Cite as: 522 U. S. 118 (1997)
Scalia, J., concurring
But no analytical approach based upon "functional analysis" can faithfully replicate the common law, as is demonstrated in the Court's opinion today. By describing the subset of actors in the criminal process who are subject to suit as "complaining witnesses," the Court implies that testifying is the critical event. But a "complaining witness" could be sued for malicious prosecution whether or not he ever provided factual testimony, so long as he had a role in initiating or procuring the prosecution; in that sense, the "witness" in "complaining witness" is misleading. As applied to the police officers in Malley, that confusion was more or less harmless. Here, however, Imbler and Malley collide to produce a rule that stands the common law on its head: Kalina is absolutely immune from any suit challenging her decision to prosecute or seek an arrest warrant, but can be sued if she changes "functional categories" by providing personal testimony to the Court.
Imbler's principle of absolute prosecutorial immunity, and the "functional categories" approach to immunity questions imposed by cases like Briscoe, make faithful adherence to the common law embodied in § 1983 very difficult. But both Imbler and the "functional" approach are so deeply embedded in our § 1983 jurisprudence that, for reasons of stare decisis, I would not abandon them now. Given those concessions, Malley's distortion of the term "complaining witness" may take us as close to the right answer as we are likely to get. Because Kalina's conduct clearly places her in that functional category, I agree with the Court that she is not entitled to absolute immunity under our precedents.
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