Can a federal government official be held liable for negligence in a civil case?
MultiRegion, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Williams v. Swarthout, No. 2:11-cv-1687 LKK AC P (E.D. Cal. 2013):
Generally, government officials performing discretionary functions are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not clearly violate established statutory or constitutional rights. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818 (1982). If the law is clearly established, the immunity defense ordinarily should fail, since a reasonably competent public official should know the law governing his conduct. Id. at 818-19.
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