Burns v. Reed

Burns v. Reed
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 28, 1990
Decided May 30, 1991
Full case nameCathy Burns, Petitioner v. Rick Reed
Citations500 U.S. 478 (more)
111 S. Ct. 1934; 114 L. Ed. 2d 547; 1991 U.S. LEXIS 3018; 59 U.S.L.W. 4536; 91 Cal. Daily Op. Service 3961; 91 Daily Journal DAR 6290
Holding
A state prosecuting attorney is absolutely immune from liability for damages under § 1983 for participating in a probable cause hearing, but not for giving legal advice to the police.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · John P. Stevens
Sandra Day O'Connor · Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy · David Souter
Case opinions
MajorityWhite, joined by Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter
Concur/dissentScalia, joined by Blackmun; Marshall (part III)
Laws applied
42 U.S.C. § 1983

Burns v. Reed, 500 U.S. 478 (1991), was a United States Supreme Court case. A prosecutor was absolutely immune from damages based upon positions taken in a probable cause hearing for a search warrant. The same prosecutor was not held entitled to immunity for giving legal advice to the police about the legality of an investigative practice.[1]

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  1. ^ Burns v. Reed, 478 F.2d (1991).