Persons Who Are Not "Persons" | Season 2, Ep. 8

Podcast (bound-by-oath): Play in new window | Download

Section 1983 says that “every person” acting under color of state law shall be liable for violating the Constitution. But in 1951, the Supreme Court began to rule that some officials weren’t “persons” within the meaning of Section 1983 and that those officials thus enjoy absolute immunity—no matter how malicious, corrupt, or unconstitutional their conduct may be. On Episode 8, we examine absolute immunity for legislators and judges.

Click here for transcript. Click here for Episode 1.

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, and Stitcher.

Guests

Sheldon Nahmod, Chicago-Kent College of Law

James Pfander, Northwestern Law

Jeffrey Shaman, DePaul Law

William Maurer, Institute for Justice

Resources

Sheldon Nahmod, Persons Who Are Not “Persons”: Absolute Individual Immunity under Section 1983

Sheldon Nahmod, Section 1983 is Born: The Interlocking Supreme Court Stories of Tenney and Monroe

Jeffrey Shaman, Judicial Immunity from Civil and Criminal Liability

James Pfander, Zones of Discretion at Common Law

Michael Berens & John Shiffman, The Teflon Robe: Holding Judges Accountable

Robert Kaczorowski, The Politics of Judicial Interpretation: The Federal Courts, Department of Justice, and Civil Rights, 1866-1876.

Joan Chaconas, John Surratt Jr. 

New Orleans Ankle Monitors

Recent Episodes

March 16, 2022

State Remedies | SEASON 2, EP. 11

With the doors to federal court closing on civil rights claims, this final episode of Season 2 heads to new terrain: state court. Click here for […]

Read More

September 01, 2021

Closing the Courthouse Doors | Season 2, Ep. 9

On this episode, we take stock of developments in the courts and in Congress since this season began. There’s an update on the first case […]

Read More

View All Episodes