Cite as: 509 U. S. 259 (1993)
Opinion of the Court
were Solicitor General Starr, Assistant Attorney General Gerson, and Deputy Solicitor General Mahoney.*
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
In an action brought under 42 U. S. C. § 1983, petitioner seeks damages from respondent prosecutors for allegedly fabricating evidence during the preliminary investigation of a crime and making false statements at a press conference announcing the return of an indictment. The questions presented are whether respondents are absolutely immune from liability on either or both of these claims.
As the case comes to us, we have no occasion to consider whether some or all of respondents' conduct may be protected by qualified immunity. Moreover, we make two important assumptions about the case: first, that petitioner's allegations are entirely true; and, second, that they allege constitutional violations for which § 1983 provides a remedy. Our statement of facts is therefore derived entirely from petitioner's complaint and is limited to matters relevant to respondents' claim to absolute immunity.
I
Petitioner commenced this action on March 4, 1988, following his release from jail in Du Page County, Illinois. He had been incarcerated there for three years on charges growing out of the highly publicized murder of Jeanine Nicarico, an 11-year-old child, on February 25, 1983. The complaint named 17 defendants, including Du Page County, its sheriff and seven of his assistants, two expert witnesses and the estate of a third, and the five respondents.
Respondent Fitzsimmons was the duly elected Du Page County State's Attorney from the time of the Nicarico
*Michael D. Bradbury filed a brief for the Appellate Committee of the California District Attorneys Association as amicus curiae.
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