City Attorneys Immune From Suit Over Requested Protective Order

City attorneys in Albuquerque, N.M., who sought a protective order in a state suit against the city clerk, are absolutely immune from a federal suit claiming their motion was a vindictive prosecution, the Tenth Circuit said.

Absolute immunity shields the acts of government attorneys undertaken in preparation for judicial proceedings that occur in the course of their role as an advocate for the government, the per curiam opinion said.

After Albuquerque City Clerk Natalie Howard rejected Stella Padilla’s petition to run for mayor, because it lacked the required number of valid signatures, Padilla sued in state court. On several occasions ...