Stump v. Sparkman

Stump v. Sparkman
Argued January 10, 1978
Decided March 28, 1978
Full case nameHarold D. Stump, et al. v. Linda Kay Sparkman and Leo Sparkman
Citations435 U.S. 349 (more)
98 S. Ct. 1099; 55 L. Ed. 2d 331; 1978 U.S. LEXIS 74
Case history
PriorCiv.No. F-75-129 (N.D. Ind. May 13, 1976)

552 F.2d 172 (7th Cir. 1977)

Certiorari granted October 3, 1977, 434 U.S. 815, 98 S.Ct. 51, 54 L.Ed.2d 70
SubsequentRehearing Denied June 5, 1978, 436 U.S. 951, 98 S.Ct. 2862, 56 L.Ed.2d 795 Remand 601 F.2nd 261 (7th Cir. 1979)
Holding
A judge will not be deprived of immunity because the action he took was in error, was done maliciously, or was in excess of his authority. He will be subject to liability only when he has acted in the clear absence of all jurisdiction.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
MajorityWhite, joined by Burger, Blackmun, Rehnquist, Stevens
DissentStewart, joined by Marshall, Powell
DissentPowell
Brennan took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
42 U.S.C. § 1983
DeKalb County Court House, Auburn, Indiana. The chambers of the Circuit Court judge are at upper left.

Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349 (1978), is the leading United States Supreme Court decision on judicial immunity. It involved an Indiana judge who was sued by a young woman who had been sterilized without her knowledge as a minor in accordance with the judge's order. The Supreme Court held that the judge was immune from being sued for issuing the order because it was issued as a judicial function. The case has been called one of the most controversial in recent Supreme Court history.[1]

  1. ^ Kessler, Laura T. (March 30, 2014). "'A Sordid Case': Stump v. Sparkman, Judicial Immunity, and the Other Side of Reproductive Rights". Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network. SSRN 2417972. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)