Mireles v. Waco
| Mireles v. Waco | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Decided October 21, 1991 | |
| Full case name | Mireles v. Waco |
| Citations | 502 U.S. 9 (more) |
| Holding | |
| A state judge is absolutely immune to liability for acts committed while presiding over their court. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Per curiam | |
| Dissent | Stevens |
| Dissent | Scalia, joined by Kennedy |
Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9 (1991), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that a state judge is absolutely immune to liability for acts committed while presiding over their court.[1][2]
Description
When a defense lawyer failed to appear for a scheduled hearing, the judge not only issued a bench warrant for his arrest, but instructed the police sent to arrest him to "rough him up a little" to teach him not to skip court dates. Although this was entirely unprofessional and possibly criminal, the judge was held, by the Supreme Court, to have absolute immunity from a lawsuit arising from the resulting beating, because the misbehavior occurred entirely within his activities as a judge presiding over a court.[1]
Stevens dissented because he did not believe that ordering police officers to use excessive force was a judicial act. Justices Scalia and Kennedy dissented because the case did not receive briefing and argument before the decision; additionally, they believed the situation was so rare that a Supreme Court decision on the subject was unnecessary.[1]