From our private database of 22,600+ case briefs...
Harlow v. Fitzgerald
United States Supreme Court
457 U.S. 800 (1982)
Facts
A. Ernest Fitzgerald (plaintiff) was a management analyst in the Department of the Air Force. During the Johnson administration, Fitzgerald testified to a congressional committee regarding technical problems and cost overruns on the C-5A cargo plane. Fitzgerald’s testimony was embarrassing to the Defense Department, and a memo outlined a way to discharge Fitzgerald using a reduction in force despite Fitzgerald’s civil service protection. Approximately one year later, the Nixon administration carried out the reduction in force and eliminated Fitzgerald’s position. Fitzgerald sued Nixon, and two senior White House aides, Bryce Harlow and Alexander Butterfield (defendants). Discovery progressed for eight years. Nixon, Fitzgerald, and Harlow moved for summary judgment based on immunity. The trial court denied the motion for summary judgment, and Nixon, Fitzgerald, and Harlow appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Powell, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 519,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 22,600 briefs, keyed to 984 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
