Brookings v. Clunk

Decision Date18 November 2004
Docket NumberNo. 03-3511.,03-3511.
PartiesSean M. BROOKINGS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. R.R. Denny CLUNK, Judge, Defendant-Appellant, STARK COUNTY, Ohio, et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

ARGUED: George D. Jonson, Montgomery, Rennie & Jonson, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellant. Randi A. Barnabee, Deborah A. Smith & Company, Northfield, Ohio, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: George D. Jonson, Hope A. Smith, Montgomery, Rennie & Jonson, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellant. Randi A. Barnabee, Deborah A. Smith & Company, Northfield, Ohio, for Appellee.

Before: SILER and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges; REEVES, District Judge.*

REEVES, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which SILER, J., joined. GIBBONS, J. (pp. 624-30), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

OPINION

REEVES, District Judge.

Defendant-Appellant R.R. Denny Clunk, Judge of the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division ("Judge Clunk"), appeals the district court's denial of his motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure based on a claim of judicial immunity. For the reasons set forth below, we hold that Judge Clunk is entitled to judicial immunity. Accordingly, we REVERSE the order of the district court.

BACKGROUND

Sean Brookings was born female, but completed a sex reassignment procedure to become "male." On three occasions after the gender transition, Brookings applied for and received marriage licenses from the Stark County Probate Court. Brookings applied for the first license in 1988 and the second in 1990. The last application occurred December 20, 1994, when Brookings applied for a license to marry the late Lois Dimple McKinney Brookings ("McKinney").

On May 4, 2001, Vincent Alfera, counsel for the decedent's surviving son in a will contest action, wrote to Judge Clunk and the Stark County Prosecuting Attorney and provided documentation that Brookings had given false information to obtain a license to marry McKinney. Specifically, Alfera noted that Brookings had failed to truthfully attest to his legal sex (female), the number of his previous marriages (four), and his actual county of residence (Summit). This letter referenced Section 2921.13 of the Ohio Revised Code — the criminal statute which sets forth the penalty for making a false statement in a marriage application. Alfera also urged the recipients of the letter to bring charges against Sharon M. Perry/Sean Brookings.

On September 27, 2001, Judge Clunk filed a criminal complaint against Brookings for knowingly making false statements while applying for a marriage license in violation of O.R.C. §§ 2921.13 and 3101.05. Judge Clunk attested in the complaint that Brookings had purposefully made false statements to the probate court in connection with a proceeding within the court's jurisdiction in order to mislead the court in performing its official duties. Brookings was later arrested and charged with committing a misdemeanor in the first degree through a continuing course of conduct.

Brookings responded by moving to dismiss the criminal charges based on the applicable two-year statute of limitations. Thereafter, the Canton Municipal Court dismissed the criminal complaint, concluding that the criminal charges had not been initiated within the limitations period. Brookings then initiated a § 1983 action against Judge Clunk, claiming that the judge had violated his civil rights by pressuring the prosecutor's office to have him arrested and that Judge Clunk acted outside his jurisdiction in doing so.

On December 19, 2002, Judge Clunk filed a motion to dismiss the Plaintiff's § 1983 claims against him based on absolute judicial immunity. The district court denied this motion, concluding that Judge Clunk's actions were non-judicial and that he was not entitled to absolute judicial immunity.

JURISDICTION AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

The court's jurisdiction to review this interlocutory appeal is based on the principle that a district court's denial of a claim of immunity, to the extent that it turns on an issue of law, is immediately appealable. Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 525, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985); see also Barnes v. Winchell, 105 F.3d 1111, 1114 (6th Cir.1997). Specifically, the Supreme Court has stated that "the denial of a substantial claim of absolute immunity is an order appealable before final judgment, for the essence of absolute immunity is its possessor's entitlement not to have to answer for his conduct in a civil damages action." Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 525, 105 S.Ct. 2806.

The availability of absolute judicial immunity in the context of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss presents a question of law. As such, the court's review of the district court's denial of the motion is de novo. Barnes, 105 F.3d at 1115. Moreover, as the proponent of the claim of absolute judicial immunity, Judge Clunk bears the burden of establishing that such immunity is warranted. Id. (citing Antoine v. Byers & Anderson, 508 U.S. 429, 432, 113 S.Ct. 2167, 124 L.Ed.2d 391 (1993)).

DISCUSSION

It is well-established that judges enjoy judicial immunity from suits arising out of the performance of their judicial functions. Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, 553-54, 87 S.Ct. 1213, 18 L.Ed.2d 288 (1967); Mann v. Conlin, 22 F.3d 100, 103 (6th Cir.1994) (A judge performing his judicial functions is entitled to immunity from a suit seeking monetary damages.). The Supreme Court has specifically held that state judges are absolutely immune from liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Briscoe v. LaHue, 460 U.S. 325, 334, 103 S.Ct. 1108, 75 L.Ed.2d 96 (1983); Pierson, 386 U.S. at 554-55, 87 S.Ct. 1213.

In fact, judicial immunity applies to acts performed maliciously and corruptly as well as acts performed in bad faith or with malice as has been alleged in this case. Pierson, 386 U.S. at 554, 87 S.Ct. 1213; see also Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9, 11, 112 S.Ct. 286, 116 L.Ed.2d 9 (1991). However, judicial immunity does not apply if the judge's activities were "non-judicial" in nature or if the judge's actions are performed without any jurisdiction to do so. Id.; Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, 362-63, 98 S.Ct. 1099, 55 L.Ed.2d 331 (1978). Here, Judge Clunk contends that neither exception applies to his claim of absolute judicial immunity.

Although the applicability of judicial immunity on the facts presented here is a close question, for the reasons stated herein, we find that neither exception applies and that Judge Clunk is entitled to judicial immunity.

A. The Non-Judicial Acts Exception

In Stump, the Supreme Court established a two-prong test to determine whether an act is "judicial." Id. at 362, 98 S.Ct. 1099. First, the court must consider whether the act in question is a function that is "normally performed by a judge." Id. This court has previously referred to this inquiry as the functional approach. Under this inquiry, a court is required to examine the nature and function of the act, not the act itself. The Supreme Court reformulated this inquiry in Mireles by establishing that, even if a particular act is not a function normally performed by a judge, the court must look to the particular act's relation to a general function normally performed by a judge. Id. at 13, 112 S.Ct. 286.

Second, in determining whether an act is "judicial," the court must assess whether the parties dealt with the judge in his or her judicial capacity. Id. at 12, 112 S.Ct 286. In examining the functions normally performed by a judge, this court has recognized that "paradigmatic judicial acts," or acts that involve resolving disputes between parties who have invoked the jurisdiction of a court, are the touchstone for application of judicial immunity. Barrett v. Harrington, 130 F.3d 246, 255 (6th Cir.1997) (citing Antoine, 508 U.S. at 435-36, 113 S.Ct. 2167). Conversely, whenever an action taken by a judge is not an adjudication between the parties, it is less likely that it will be deemed judicial. Cameron v. Seitz, 38 F.3d 264, 271 (6th Cir.1994).

In denying Judge Clunk's motion to dismiss, the district court concluded that his actions were not paradigmatic judicial actions. Specifically, the court found that the swearing-out of a complaint against Brookings was not a function that is "normally performed by a judge" in that his actions neither "resolved disputes" nor "adjudicated private rights." The court concluded that Judge Clunk's actions were prosecutorial in nature and that, at the time he filled out the complaint against Brookings, he was acting as an ordinary citizen, not a judge.

The district court specifically rejected Judge Clunk's assertion that he is entitled to judicial immunity because his actions were intended to protect the integrity of the judicial decision-making process. The court noted that, on September 27, 2001 (the time when Judge Clunk swore out the criminal complaint), Brookings was not a party before the court. As such, the district court concluded that Judge Clunk could not justify his actions by arguing that he performed prosecutorial functions as a result of a case "brought before [him] independently by the parties."

(1) "Normally Performed By A Judge"

This court has previously held that the initiation of accusatory processes such as criminal prosecutions is not a function normally performed by a judicial officer. Sevier v. Turner, 742 F.2d 262, 272 (6th Cir.1984). However, in Barnes v. Winchell, the court explained that this exception to absolute immunity is a narrow one and that "even if a judge encroaches upon prosecutorial functions, the broad shield of absolute judicial immunity is not automatically overcome." Barnes, 105 F.3d at 1119.

In Barnes, this court conducted an extensive analysis regarding the distinctions between purely prosecutorial and judicial functions. In doing so, the court considered cases from this circuit as well as a number of other circuits. In...

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