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Liability of Justices for Official Acts

Judges are absolutely immune from 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983 liability for all acts performed within their subject matter jurisdiction, even if the acts are malicious. This immunity extends to justices of the peace as well as to those who sit on the supreme court and shield judges unless they act either in the clear absence of all jurisdiction over subject matter or in a nonjudicial capacity[i].

However, justices are liable for their official acts under various circumstances.  The following are certain examples of such situations:

  • A justice of the peace may be held liable for damages for the wrongful death of a person by suicide on evidence that the justice intentionally abused the criminal process of his or her court for the purpose of inflicting on the person sufficient emotional distress to cause him or her to pay a civil debt and court costs, and upon further evidence that such abuse constituted a substantial factor in the cause of the person’s suicide[ii].
  • A justice of the peace and the sureties in his bond are liable under it for double the value of exempt property sold by a special constable under legal process issued by such justice[iii]. This is with respect to the matter for which the constable was appointed.
  • A justice of the peace is civilly liable when he acts without jurisdiction of the person, without a general jurisdiction of the subject matter, or without compliance with jurisdictional prerequisites, irrespective of motive or corruption, and even though his act involves the decision made in perfect, good faith, that he had such jurisdiction[iv].
  • A judicial officer is liable for damages for illegal acts which result in injuries to others or deprive them of their legal rights, when his acts are without the scope and limits of his jurisdiction[v].
  • If the  illegal acts  of the judicial officer are outside the scope and limits of his jurisdiction, he is liable, if damages result to others from such acts, whether he is actuated by malice, corrupt and impure motives, or neither[vi]. If the motives are impure and bad, they are considered to only aggravate the damages. When the judge acts illegally, not within the limits of his jurisdiction,  the judge becomes a trespasser and is liable for damages[vii].”
  • No judge or justice of any court, no ordinary justice of the peace, nor presiding officer of any inferior judicature or commission shall sit in any cause or proceeding in which he has a pecuniary interest[viii].  Such judicial officers become liable if they do so.
  • The immunity enjoyed by a justice of the peace when acting judicially and within the sphere of his jurisdiction, which is granted in order to maintain the dignity and independence of the judiciary, does not extend to ministerial acts.  In the performance of ministerial acts, a justice of the peace is responsible for error and misconduct in like manner and to the same extent as all other ministerial officers[ix].
  • A justice may be liable for sentencing a prisoner and committing the prisoner into the custody of an officer after an appeal has terminated the justice’s jurisdiction to take further steps.
  • The issuance of a writ of attachment by a justice of the peace without jurisdiction may give rise to liability on his or her part.
  • The issuance of an “alias attachment” after final judgment has been fully satisfied is deemed without authority and renders the justice liable in damages.
  • The general rule that judges may not be held criminally liable for any of their judicial acts, however erroneous, so long as they act in good faith, also applies to justices of the peace. However, a justice of the peace may be convicted of a criminal offense for charging fees in excess of the legal costs[x] or for failure to remit fines. Also, unless specifically exempted by statute or the constitution, a justice of the peace may be subject to arrest[xi].

[i] McCoy v. City of Monroe, 747 So. 2d 1234 (La.App. 2 Cir. Dec. 8, 1999)

[ii] State use of Richardson v. Edgeworth, 214 So. 2d 579 (Miss. 1968)

[iii] State use of Burt v. Allen, 48 W. Va. 154 (W. Va. 1900)

[iv]Cox v. Perkins, 299 Ky. 470, 475 (Ky. 1945)[v] Rammage v. Kendall et al., 168 Ky. 26, 181 S.W. 631, 634, L. R. A. 1916C, 1295,

[vi] Cox v. Perkins, 299 Ky. 470, 475 (Ky. 1945)

[vii]Cox v. Perkins, 299 Ky. 470, 475 (Ky. 1945)

[viii] Bonds v. Powl, 140 Ga. App. 140 (Ga. Ct. App. 1976)

[ix] Yelton v. Becker, 248 S.W.2d 86 (Mo. Ct. App. 1952)

[x] Reed v. State, 148 Ga. App. 264 (Ga. Ct. App. 1978)

[xi] Gross v. State, 186 Ind. 581 (Ind. 1917)


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