Richardson v. McKnight

Summary

Justice Breyer, joined by Justices Stevens, O'Connor, Souter, and Ginsburg, held that guards employed by the private prison-management firm at issue were not entitled to qualified immunity from prisoners' § 1983 suits. Neither historical practice nor the purposes supporting governmental immunity justified extending it to employees of a for-profit firm operating with limited governmental supervision and competitive pressures. The Court affirmed while leaving unresolved whether the guards acted under color of state law and whether they could assert a good-faith defense. Justice Scalia dissented, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Kennedy and Thomas, arguing that immunity should follow the governmental function performed rather than the guards' employment status and that the majority's historical and policy distinctions were unpersuasive.