Alice P. Nelson, Administratrix of the Estate of Ronald Nelson, Deceased v. David R. Knox, Robert C. Akins

I agree with my colleagues that the question of immunity from personal liability under the Civil Rights Act cannot be determined by local state dcci-sions to the extent that it has been already determined by federal law. I consider unfortunate the failure of the majority opinion to state the corresponding rule that, when federal law is in the process of being developed on new questions such as those arising under the Civil RigMs Act and has not taken shape -with reference to a specific problem such as here presented, the courts are entitled to have recourse to the state adjudications as a…