Page:United States Reports 502 OCT. TERM 1991.pdf/167

 502us1$$2Z 08-21-96 15:21:53 PAGES OPINPGT

OCTOBER TERM, 1991

9

Per Curiam

MIRELES v. WACO on petition for writ of certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the ninth circuit No. 91–311. Decided October 21, 1991 Respondent Waco, a public defender, filed this action under 42 U. S. C. § 1983, seeking damages from, inter alios, petitioner Mireles, a California Superior Court judge, for ordering the police, forcibly and with excessive force, to seize and bring him into the courtroom when he failed to appear for the calling of the calendar. The Federal District Court dismissed the complaint against the judge, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b), on the grounds of complete judicial immunity. However, the Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the judge was not acting in his judicial capacity when he requested and authorized the use of excessive force. Held: The Court of Appeals erred in ruling that Judge Mireles’ alleged actions were not taken in his judicial capacity. Judicial immunity is an immunity from suit, not just from ultimate assessment of damages, and it can be overcome only if a judge’s actions are nonjudicial or were taken in the complete absence of all jurisdiction. Here, the judge’s function of directing police officers to bring counsel in a pending case before the court is a general function normally performed by a judge. That he may have made a mistake or acted in excess of his authority does not make the act nonjudicial. See, e. g., Forrester v. White, 484 U. S. 219, 227. His action was also taken in the very aid of his jurisdiction over the matter before him, and thus it cannot be said that the action was taken in the absence of jurisdiction. Certiorari granted; reversed.

Per Curiam. A long line of this Court’s precedents acknowledges that, generally, a judge is immune from a suit for money damages. See, e. g., Forrester v. White, 484 U. S. 219 (1988); Cleavinger v. Saxner, 474 U. S. 193 (1985); Dennis v. Sparks, 449 U. S. 24 (1980); Supreme Court of Va. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 446 U. S. 719 (1980); Butz v. Economou, 438 U. S. 478 (1978); Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U. S. 349 (1978); Pierson