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.
Recent Episodes
Trust But Verify | Season 3, Ep. 12
In 1973, federal narcotics agents raided a pair of homes in Collinsville, Illinois by mistake. They didn’t find any drugs, but they did terrorize two […]
Listen NowEverything You Eat, Drink, and Wear | Season 3, Ep. 11
Government officials must obtain a warrant before forcibly entering a home (absent consent or an emergency). That rule goes back to the Founding. But in […]
Listen NowSpecial Weapons and Tactics | Season 3, Ep. 10
In 2020, a police SWAT team blew up Vicki Baker’s house after a fugitive barricaded himself inside. On this episode, we ask: who pays the […]
Listen NowPunishment Without Crime | Season 3, Ep. 9
Civil forfeiture is a civil rights nightmare, allowing police and prosecutors to seize billions of dollars’ worth of property annually—cash, cars, houses, bank accounts, and […]
Listen Now