Background
Stephen B. Lopez appealed pro se from a district court judgment dismissing his action seeking to challenge his federal criminal conviction. The appeal was submitted without oral argument.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the dismissal de novo under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure twelve comma six. The panel concluded that Lopez failed to allege facts sufficient to state any plausible claim. The court noted that prosecutors are absolutely immune from Section nineteen eighty-three actions when performing functions intimately associated with the judicial phase of the criminal process. Additionally, federal judges are entitled to immunity for judicial acts taken within their jurisdiction.
To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces absolute immunity protections for prosecutors and federal judges in civil rights actions arising from judicial and prosecutorial functions.
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