Stump v. Sparkman
United States Supreme Court
435 U.S. 349 (1978)
Ora Spitler McFarlin petitioned an Indiana state court to have her mentally challenged, 15-year-old daughter Linda Spitler (plaintiff) sterilized via tubal ligation, alleging Linda had stayed out overnight with men on several occasions; Judge Harold Stump (defendant) approved the petition ex parte, without a hearing, the same day it was filed, and the approval was never docketed or filed with the clerk's office. Linda underwent the surgery believing she was having her appendix removed, and only discovered the truth two years later, after marrying Leo Sparkman (plaintiff) and being unable to conceive. The Sparkmans sued Ora, Judge Stump, the petition's drafting attorney, the physicians, and the hospital in federal court, seeking damages and raising state tort claims; the district court found Judge Stump the only state actor and completely immune under judicial immunity, but the court of appeals reversed, finding Judge Stump acted outside his jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether, under the doctrine of judicial immunity, a judge may only be subject to legal liability for acting in the clear absence of all jurisdiction, even if the judge acts in error, maliciously, or in excess of authority.