Rehberg v. Paulk

Rehberg v. Paulk
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided April 2, 2012
Full case name	Rehberg v. Paulk
Citations	566 U.S. 356 ( more )
Holding
A witness in a grand jury proceeding is entitled to the same absolute immunity from suit under Section 1983 as a witness who testifies at trial.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices Antonin Scalia  · Anthony Kennedy Clarence Thomas  · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer  · Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor  · Elena Kagan
Case opinion
Majority	Alito, joined by unanimous

Rehberg v. Paulk, 566 U.S. 356(2012), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that a witness in a grand-jury proceeding is entitled to the same absolute immunity from suit under Section 1983 as a witness who testifies at trial. ^{[1] [2]}

Background

Paulk, the chief investigator for a prosecutor's office, testified at grand-jury proceedings that resulted in petitioner’s indictment. After the indictments were dismissed, petitioner brought an action under 42 U. S. C. §1983, alleging that respondent had conspired to present and did present false testimony to the grand jury. The federal District Court denied Paulk's motion to dismiss on immunity grounds, but the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding that Paulk had absolute immunity from a Section 1983 claim based on his grand jury testimony. ^[1]

Opinion of the court

The Supreme Court issued an opinion on April 2, 2012. ^[1]

References

1. Rehberg v. Paulk, 566 U.S. 356 (2012).
2. Coates, Timothy (April 4, 2012). "Opinion analysis: Absolute immunity for grand jury witnesses". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved October 11, 2025.

External links

• Text of Rehberg v. Paulk, 566 U.S. 356(2012) is available from: Justia

This article incorporates written opinion of a United States federal court. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the text is in the public domain .