Cite as: 522 U. S. 118 (1997)
Opinion of the Court
These cases make it clear that the absolute immunity that protects the prosecutor's role as an advocate is not grounded in any special "esteem for those who perform these functions, and certainly not from a desire to shield abuses of office, but because any lesser degree of immunity could impair the judicial process itself." Malley, 475 U. S., at 342. Thus, in determining immunity, we examine "the nature of the function performed, not the identity of the actor who performed it." Forrester v. White, 484 U. S. 219, 229 (1988).13
This point is perhaps best illustrated by the determination that the senior law enforcement official in the Nation—the Attorney General of the United States—is protected only by qualified, rather than absolute, immunity when engaged in the performance of national defense functions rather than prosecutorial functions. Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U. S. 511 (1985).
In Malley we considered, and rejected, two theories on which immunity might have been accorded to a police officer who had caused an unconstitutional arrest by presenting a judge with a complaint and supporting affidavit that failed to establish probable cause. His first argument, that his function was comparable to that of a complaining witness, actually militated against his claim because such witnesses were subject to suit at common law.14
13 Examining the nature of the function performed is not a recent innovation. In Ex parte Virginia, 100 U. S. 339, 348 (1880), we stated "[w]hether the act done by [a judge] was judicial or not is to be determined by its character, and not by the character of the agent." See also Bradley v. Fisher, 13 Wall., at 347 (examining "the character of the act" performed by a judge).
14 We noted that: "[C]omplaining witnesses were not absolutely immune at common law. In 1871, the generally accepted rule was that one who procured the issuance of an arrest warrant by submitting a complaint could be held liable if the complaint was made maliciously and without probable cause. Given malice and the lack of probable cause, the complainant enjoyed no immu-
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