Van De Kamp v. Goldstein

Goldstein (plaintiff), convicted in 1980 partly on a jailhouse informant's testimony, was later released after establishing the informant had received undisclosed favorable treatment for testifying, information that could have impeached him at trial; Goldstein sued the district attorney and chief deputy (defendants) under § 1983, alleging their failure to disclose the informant's past benefits stemmed from inadequate training and supervision of prosecutors and a failure to create an information-sharing system about informants. The prosecutors claimed absolute immunity; the trial court and Ninth Circuit found the claims concerned administrative, not prosecutorial, conduct and denied immunity, and the prosecutors sought Supreme Court review.