Written by thefreedictionary.com

A judge's complete protection from personal liability for exercising judicial functions.

Judicial immunity protects judges from liability for monetary damages in civil court, for acts they perform pursuant to their judicial function. A judge generally has Immunity from civil damages if he or she had jurisdiction over the subject matter in issue. This means that a judge has immunity for acts relating to cases before the court, but not for acts relating to cases beyond the court's reach. For example, a criminal court judge would not have immunity if he or she tried to influence proceedings in a juvenile court.

Some states codify the judicial immunity doctrine in statutes. Most legislatures, including Congress, let court decisions govern the issue.

Written by NCSC

• What is meant by the term judicial independence?
• Why is judicial independence important?
• What are some common threats to judicial independence?
• How can the threats to judicial independence be avoided or countered?
• What is the appropriate relationship between judicial independence and judicial accountability?
• What is the nature of judicial immunity?
• Are judges immune from civil suits when they discharge a court administrator?

Written by Caught.net

Also see article on How To Sue A Judge and always remember, case law is ALWAYS changing.

Here is a selection of case/reference citations regarding judicial immunity when personally suing a Judge for money damages, from the collection of former Phoenix, AZ Attorney Robert A. Hirschfeld, JD. (Warning: Look up and read the cited case for consistency with your situation, before citing it in your own brief.)

When a judge knows that he lacks jurisdiction, or acts in the face of clearly valid statutes expressly depriving him of jurisdiction, judicial immunity is lost. Rankin v. Howard, (1980) 633 F.2d 844, cert den. Zeller v. Rankin, 101 S.Ct. 2020, 451 U.S. 939, 68 L.Ed 2d 326.

Written by Colorado Springs Gazette | 09 December 2011

Robert Stout is an electrician, not an expert on child welfare. But he knew something wasn’t right when he saw a young boy lying in a fetal position on the bedroom floor during a 2008 service call to a Colorado Springs townhouse.

The boy’s eyes were open, but he was motionless. The room reeked of urine.

He called police about an hour after leaving the house, and an officer went out that day.

It would be another 17 months before the 14-year-old boy was removed from the home. Another few months would go by before his five sisters, also showing signs of neglect, were taken from the home and put in foster care.