Nixon v. Fitzgerald

E145385

Nixon v. Fitzgerald is a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case that established absolute immunity from civil damages liability for a President’s official acts.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
legal case
appliesTo President of the United States
appliesToConduct official acts of the President
areaOfLaw constitutional law
separation of powers
background Nixon v. Fitzgerald self-linksurface differs
surface form: A. Ernest Fitzgerald alleged he was unlawfully dismissed from his position as a cost-management analyst after testifying before Congress about cost overruns.
citation 457 U.S. 731
constitutionalBasisDiscussed Article II of the United States Constitution
country United States of America
surface form: United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1982-06-24
defendantStatus former President
dissentBy Harry A. Blackmun
John Paul Stevens
Thurgood Marshall
William H. Rehnquist
doesNotCover unofficial or purely private acts of the President
establishes that presidential immunity from civil damages extends to acts within the outer perimeter of official responsibility
fullName Nixon v. Fitzgerald self-link
holding The President of the United States is entitled to absolute immunity from civil damages liability for official acts within the outer perimeter of his authority.
issue Whether a former President is absolutely immune from civil damages liability for official acts.
jurisdiction federal
legalPrinciple absolute presidential immunity for official acts
majorityBy Lewis F. Powell Jr.
majorityJoinedBy Byron R. White
Potter Stewart
Sandra Day O’Connor
surface form: Sandra Day O'Connor

Warren E. Burger
William J. Brennan Jr.
majorityOpinionAuthor Lewis F. Powell Jr.
page 731
petitioner Richard Nixon
surface form: Richard M. Nixon
precedentFor absolute immunity of the President from civil damages for official acts
relatedTo Clinton v. Jones
Fitzgerald v. Hampton
reporter United States Reports
respondent A. Ernest Fitzgerald
result Judgment of the court of appeals was reversed in part and affirmed in part.
separationOfPowersConcern protecting the President's ability to perform official duties without fear of personal liability
subjectMatter civil damages liability
presidential immunity
typeOfImmunity absolute immunity
volume 457
voteSplit 5-4
yearDecided 1982

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Clinton v. Jones priorCaseReferenced Nixon v. Fitzgerald
Nixon v. Fitzgerald fullName Nixon v. Fitzgerald self-link
Nixon v. Fitzgerald background Nixon v. Fitzgerald self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: A. Ernest Fitzgerald alleged he was unlawfully dismissed from his position as a cost-management analyst after testifying before Congress about cost overruns.
Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982) relatedCase Nixon v. Fitzgerald
this entity surface form: Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731 (1982)