Qualified and Absolute Immunity at Common Law

Overview & Synopsis

This PDF covers topics related to Common Law and is a article that
provides the first comprehensive review of the common law on state-officer
immunities around 1871. In particular, it canvasses the four nineteenth century
treatises that the Supreme Court consults in assessing officer immunities under
the common law of 1871: Cooley�s 1879 Law of Torts, Bishop�s 1889 Commentaries
on Non-contract Law, Mechem�s 1890 Law of Public Offices and Officers, and
Throop�s 1892 Law Relating to Public Officers. Not only do these treatises
collect many overlooked state common law precedents, but they rely heavily on
the Supreme Court�s own, often ignored, nineteenth-century decisions.