{"argument_date":"2008-11-05T00:00:00Z","arguments":[{"argument_date":"2008-11-05T00:00:00Z","heading":"What happened at the argument","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2008","official_transcript_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","paragraphs":["the side that brought the case argued the lower court created an improper exception to immunity.","the opposing side argued chief prosecutors should not have absolute immunity for supervision.","Justice Kennedy noted the difficulty of defining the specific violation in this context.","Justice Stevens explored the boundary between prosecutorial and administrative functions."],"reargument":false,"sequence":1,"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 19-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 10, lines 19-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 49-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 10, lines 49-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 19-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 19-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 11-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 12, lines 11-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 25-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 25-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 51-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 51-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 15, lines 37-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 15, lines 37-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 17-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 17-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 7-25","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 7-25"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 31-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 31-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 11-11","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 11-11"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 41-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 41-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 15-19","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 15-19"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 9-11","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 9-11"}]}],"caption":"Van de Kamp v. Goldstein","case_history":[{"changed_at":"2026-08-29T20:06:26.901728Z","explanation":"An official oral-argument transcript was verified.","status":"argued"}],"case_status":"argued","dek":"A district attorney claims absolute immunity. A plaintiff argues he should face a lawsuit for supervising a trial.","dek_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 25-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 25-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 17-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 17-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-5"}],"dispositions":[],"latest_court_document_date":"2008-11-05T00:00:00Z","maturity":"official_transcript","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2008","official_disposition_urls":[],"official_docket_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/07-854.html","primary_docket":"07-854","revisions":[{"correction_note":"Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.","created_at":"2026-08-31T03:09:39.900930Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":1},{"correction_note":"Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.","created_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":2}],"schema_version":"1.1","sections":[{"heading":"What this case is about","paragraphs":["The case tests the scope of prosecutorial immunity. It asks if a chief prosecutor can be sued for supervising a trial."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 25-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 25-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 17-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 17-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-5"}]},{"heading":"How the case got here","paragraphs":["The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on November 5, 2008."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"}]},{"heading":"What each side wants","paragraphs":["the side that brought the case wants the court to affirm absolute immunity for chief prosecutors.","the opposing side wants the court to allow a lawsuit against a chief prosecutor."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 25-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 25-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 17-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 17-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-5"}]},{"heading":"What each side says","paragraphs":["the side that brought the case argues chief prosecutors retain absolute immunity when supervising trials.","the opposing side argues chief prosecutors lose immunity when they supervise trial strategy."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 25-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 25-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 17-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 17-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-5"}]},{"heading":"What the justices asked","paragraphs":["Justice Kennedy asked how to identify a violation before determining qualified immunity.","Justice Stevens asked if a layperson performs a prosecutorial function in a hypothetical scenario."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 19-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 10, lines 19-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 49-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 10, lines 49-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 19-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 19-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 11-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 12, lines 11-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 51-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 51-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 15, lines 37-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 15, lines 37-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 7-25","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 7-25"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 31-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 31-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 11-11","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 11-11"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 41-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 41-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 15-19","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 15-19"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 9-11","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 9-11"}]},{"heading":"Why it matters","paragraphs":["This case defines the legal protection for senior prosecutors. It determines whether supervisors can be sued for trial decisions."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 25-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 25-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 17-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 17-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-5"}]},{"heading":"What happens next","paragraphs":["This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 19-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 10, lines 19-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 49-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 10, lines 49-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 19-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 11, lines 19-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 11-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 12, lines 11-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 51-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 51-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 15, lines 37-51","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 15, lines 37-51"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 7-25","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 7-25"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 31-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 31-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 11-11","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 11-11"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 41-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 41-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 15-19","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 15-19"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 9-11","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 9-11"}]}],"slug":"2008-07-854-van-de-kamp-v-goldstein","term":"2008","title":"Does a chief prosecutor lose immunity for supervising a trial?","title_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 14, lines 25-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 14, lines 25-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 17-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 17-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2008/07-854.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-5"}],"topics":[],"undated_disposition_date_fallback":null,"updated_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z"}