McCann v. Brady

Dist. Ct. did not err in dismissing on grounds of legislative immunity plaintiffs-state senator and one of his constituents’ section 1983 action alleging that defendant-Senate Minority Leader violated their First Amendment rights by denying plaintiff-state senator certain resources granted to defendant for distribution to other Republican senators, where: (1) plaintiff state senator had been elected to Senate as Republican; and (2) defendant expelled plaintiff state senator from Senate Republican Caucus following state senator’s decision to run as Conservative Party candidate for Governor. Legislative Immunity applies only to legislators acting in their legislative capacity, and instant decisions by defendant about who is included within Republican Caucus and how to allocate resources to Caucus members are protected under said privilege. Ct. further noted that defendant’s decisions at issue in instant complaint did not serve to constructively evict plaintiff-state senator from state Senate, where state senator had access to other resources that would allow him to have his personal staff and to obtain assistance in drafting legislation.