Suing Our Servants: The Court, Congres, and the Liability of Public Officials for Damages
![handle is hein.journals/suprev1980 and id is 285 raw text is: PETER H. SCHUCK
SUING OUR SERVANTS: THE
COURT, CONGRESS, AND THE
LIABILITY OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS
FOR DAMAGES
. * it is mentioned, that the Lord Mayor of London, in 1666,
when that city was on fire, would not give directions for, or
consent to, the pulling down 40 wooden houses, or to the re-
moving the furniture, &c. belonging to the Lawyers of Temple,
then on the Circuit, for fear he should be answerable for a tres-
pass; and in consequence of this conduct half that great city was
burnt. [Respublica v. Sparbawk, 1 Dall. 357, 363 (Pa. Sup. Ct.
1788)]
To pose the question of the appropriate scope of official immunity1
is one way to ask how we wish to govern ourselves. For some, the is-
sue of immunity is not difficult to resolve. The rule of law requires
that officials be bound by the rules that a democratic society has im-
posed upon its public servants no less than upon its other members.
Peter H. Schuck is Associate Professor of Law, Yale Law School.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wish to acknowledge the contributions of George Wyeth, Yale Law
School class of 1982, who provided invaluable research assistance, and of Professors Bruce
Ackerman, Joseph Bishop, Guido Calabresi, Robert Cover, Owen Fiss, Jay Katz, Burke
Marshall, Jerry Mashaw, and Stanton Wheeler, who read earlier drafts. I gratefully ac-
knowledge the financial support of Yale University's Center for Health Studies and the
Connecticut Bar Foundation.
I The terms official immunity or official liability refer to the immunity or liability
attaching to individual government officials in damage actions brought against them in their
individual capacities for conduct taken within the scope of their employment. The terms
governmental immunity or governmental liability refer to that attaching to federal, state,
or local governments in damage actions brought against them.
@©1981 by The University of Chicago. 0-226-46433-4/81/1980-0019$01.00](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/suprev1980&div=11&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Suing Our Servants: The Court, Congres, and the Liability of Public Officials for Damages
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