408
Opinion of the Court
trine's purposes as protecting "government's ability to perform its traditional functions" by providing immunity where "necessary to preserve" the ability of government officials "to serve the public good or to ensure that talented candidates were not deterred by the threat of damages suits from entering public service." 504 U. S., at 167. Earlier precedent described immunity as protecting the public from unwarranted timidity on the part of public officials by, for example, "encouraging the vigorous exercise of official authority," Butz v. Economou, 438 U. S. 478, 506 (1978), by contributing to " 'principled and fearless decision-making,' " Wood v. Strickland, 420 U. S. 308, 319 (1975) (quoting Pierson, supra, at 554), and by responding to the concern that threatened liability would, in Judge Hand's words, " 'dampen the ardour of all but the most resolute, or the most irresponsible,' " public officials, Harlow, 457 U. S., at 814 (quoting Gregoire v. Biddle, 177 F. 2d 579, 581 (CA2 1949) (L. Hand, J.), cert. denied, 339 U. S. 949 (1950); see also Mitchell, 472 U. S., at 526 (lawsuits may "distrac[t] officials from their governmental duties").
The guards argue that those purposes support immunity whether their employer is private or public. Brief for Petitioners 35-36. Since private prison guards perform the same work as state prison guards, they say, they must require immunity to a similar degree. To say this, however, is to misread this Court's precedents. The Court has sometimes applied a functional approach in immunity cases, but only to decide which type of immunity—absolute or qualified—a public officer should receive. See, e. g., Buckley v. Fitzsimmons, 509 U. S. 259 (1993); Burns v. Reed, 500 U. S. 478 (1991); Forrester v. White, 484 U. S. 219 (1988); Cleavinger v. Saxner, 474 U. S. 193 (1985); Harlow, supra. And it never has held that the mere performance of a governmental function could make the difference between unlimited § 1983 liability and qualified immunity, see, e. g., Tower,
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