The Supreme Court held that high officials of the executive branch, with rare exceptions, do not have absolute immunity from civil suits.
Economou, a commodities dealer, filed a civil suit for $32 million, claiming that Secretary of Agriculture Butz had entered a false claim against him because of his criticisms of the department’s policies. Citing Supreme Court precedents, Butz responded that he had absolute immunity from such a suit. Speaking for a 5-4 majority, however, Chief Justice Byron R. White
In Harlow v. Fitzgerald
Clinton v. Jones
Executive immunity
Nixon, United States v.
Separation of powers