Home > Great American Court Cases > Nixon v. Fitzgerald

Legal Citation: 457 U.S. 731 (1982)

Petitioner
President Richard M. Nixon

Respondent
Ernest Fitzgerald

Petitioner's Claim
That a president should not be held liable for civil damages resulting from the termination of a Pentagon employee.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Herbert J. Miller, Jr.

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
John E. Nolan, Jr.

Justices for the Court
Warren E. Burger, Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor, Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens

Justices Dissenting
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Byron R. White

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
24 June 1982

Decision
That a president possesses absolute immunity from civil lawsuits for actions taken in the course of his official...