The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed that court-appointed attorneys are entitled to immunity, even in the face of allegations that their conduct was “wrongful and illegal.” In a decision authored by Judge Raymond W. Gruender, the three-judge panel upheld the notion that attorneys from Frankel, Ruben, Klein, Payne & Pudlowski, Dunlop & McCarter, and James D. Reid, Ph.D., LLC were acting within their judicial duties. The case in question involved Devon Arseneau, who filed suit alleging that these attorneys violated her Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendment rights during their representation of her minor child in a custody dispute, resulting in her ex-husband gaining sole legal custody.
The court’s decision, issued on August 7, underscores that guardians ad litem are entitled to absolute immunity for actions conducted within the scope of their court-appointed responsibilities. This ruling reaffirms the legal protections afforded to attorneys acting on the judiciary’s behalf, even when their actions are contested as improper or illegal. For further details on the court’s rationale and implications of this decision, please refer to the original [article](https://www.law.com/2024/08/07/court-appointed-attorneys-had-immunity-despite-allegations-of-wrongful-and-illegal-conduct-8th-circ-says/).