Harlow v. Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald (plaintiff), an Air Force management analyst, testified to Congress about cost overruns on a military cargo plane, embarrassing the Defense Department; a memo laid out a plan to eliminate his position through a reduction in force despite his civil-service protections, and about a year later his position was in fact eliminated. Fitzgerald sued President Nixon and two senior White House aides, including Harlow (defendant), and after eight years of discovery the defendants moved for summary judgment on immunity grounds, which the trial court denied.