## Facts

- In 1961, white and Black Episcopal clergymen participated in a nonviolent “prayer pilgrimage” opposing racial segregation and entered a segregated interstate bus terminal waiting room in Jackson, Mississippi.
- Jackson police officers arrested them under a Mississippi “breach of the peace” statute that criminalized congregating where a breach of the peace “may be occasioned” and refusing to leave when ordered.
- The clergymen were tried without a jury before a municipal police justice, convicted, and sentenced to jail time and fines.
- On appeal, one clergyman obtained an acquittal in a trial de novo, and charges against the others were dropped.
- The clergymen sued the arresting officers and the municipal police justice for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and for common-law false arrest and imprisonment.
- At trial, the parties disputed whether a “threatening crowd” was present; the jury returned a verdict for the defendants.
- While related events were pending in courts, the statute at issue was later held unconstitutional on similar facts.

## Issues

1. Whether § 1983 abrogates the common-law rule of absolute judicial immunity for damages arising from judicial acts.
2. Whether police officers sued under § 1983 may assert a good-faith and probable-cause defense for an arrest made under a statute later held unconstitutional.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court held that § 1983 did not abolish absolute judicial immunity for damages based on judicial acts, and the municipal judge was not liable.
- The Court held that police officers may assert a good-faith and probable-cause defense in § 1983 actions, paralleling the defense available in common-law false arrest claims.
- The Court rejected the view that officers enforcing a statute later declared unconstitutional are strictly liable under § 1983, because officers are not required to anticipate later constitutional rulings.
- Applying those rules to the case posture, the Court upheld the defense verdict for the officers and judge.

## Legal Principles

- Judges are absolutely immune from damages liability for judicial acts, even if the acts are alleged to be malicious or corrupt, unless Congress clearly abrogates that immunity.
- In interpreting § 1983, longstanding common-law immunities are presumed to remain unless the statute clearly indicates otherwise.
- Police officers sued under § 1983 may raise a qualified defense of good faith and probable cause, including when they enforce a statute not yet declared unconstitutional.
- § 1983 provides a federal damages remedy for constitutional deprivations under color of law, but it does not eliminate all common-law defenses and immunities.

## Conclusion

The Court preserved absolute judicial immunity under § 1983 and recognized a qualified, good-faith/probable-cause defense for police officers, limiting damages liability when officers reasonably enforce an apparently valid statute later held unconstitutional.


Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547 (1967)