George MacKie v. Katrin Rouse-Weir / George MacKie v. Robert Joss

Summary

The court affirmed dismissal of George Mackie's claims against a qualified examiner and a probable cause expert arising from their evaluations and testimony in sexually dangerous person commitment proceedings. It held that qualified examiners are protected by absolute quasi-judicial immunity because they perform an independent, essential gatekeeping function, and that probable cause experts are protected by the litigation privilege for reports and testimony connected to the probable-cause hearing. The court did not decide whether probable cause experts also possess quasi-judicial, prosecutorial, or qualified immunity.