Ferri v. Ackerman

Decided December 4, 1979. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 78-5981 · 444 U.S. 193 (1979) · Cited 269 times

Holding

An attorney appointed by a federal judge to represent an indigent defendant in a federal criminal trial is not, as a matter of federal law, entitled to absolute immunity in a state malpractice suit brought against him by his former client.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Howard v. Lyons · 360 U.S. 593 (1959)
• Butz v. Economou · 438 U.S. 478 (1978)
• Ex Parte Garland · 71 U.S. 333 (1867)
• Imbler v. Pachtman · 424 U.S. 409 (1976)
• Pierson v. Ray · 386 U.S. 547 (1967)
• Tenney v. Brandhove · 341 U.S. 367 (1951)
• Barr v. Matteo · 360 U.S. 564 (1959)
• Lake Country Estates, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 440 U.S. 391 (1979)
• Spalding v. Vilas · 161 U.S. 483 (1896)
• In Re Griffiths · 413 U.S. 717 (1973)
• Cammer v. United States · 350 U.S. 399 (1956)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Polk County v. Dodson · 454 U.S. 312 (1981)
• Clinton v. Jones · 520 U.S. 681 (1997)
• Davidson v. Cannon · 474 U.S. 344 (1986)
• McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, District 1 · 486 U.S. 429 (1988)
• Tower v. Glover · 467 U.S. 914 (1984)
• United States v. Cronic · 466 U.S. 648 (1984)
• Logan v. Zimmerman Brush Co. · 455 U.S. 422 (1982)
• Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
• Briscoe v. LaHue · 460 U.S. 325 (1983)
• Branti v. Finkel · 445 U.S. 507 (1980)
• Georgia v. McCollum · 505 U.S. 42 (1992)
• Nixon v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 731 (1982)
• Trump v. United States · 603 U.S. 593 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1979). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).