Dear John,

This morning, IJ secured a resounding victory for government accountability. A federal appellate court unanimously ruled that former West Virginia judge Louise Goldston is not entitled to judicial immunity after leading a search party through our client Matt Gibson’s home.

In March of 2020, Goldston was overseeing family court proceedings when she abruptly halted the hearing and ordered Matt and his ex-wife to meet at Matt’s home. When Matt told the judge she could not enter his home without a warrant, she replied, “Oh yeah, I will”—and threatened Matt with arrest if he refused to comply. He attempted to record the encounter, but the judge ordered the court bailiff to seize his phone.

The search party, under the direction of Goldston, removed several items from the home without Matt’s permission—taking photos off the wall and opening closets to sift through possessions.

When Matt’s ex-wife said that their old DVD collection was downstairs, Goldston accompanied her down and told her to “go in there and pick the ones you want.” While the ex-wife sorted through the DVDs, Goldston sat in a rocking chair, shoes off, supervising and giving orders.

That’s simply not the role of a judge, even though it is extremely difficult to hold judicial officers accountable.

Matt learned that when he tried to sue Goldston in federal court for violating his constitutional rights. Judge Goldston claimed judicial immunity. Unlike qualified immunity, which private citizens have at least some chance of overcoming, judicial immunity is an impenetrable protection that shields judges for their actions in the course of their duties.

Click to learn more about Matt's case.

But as IJ argued, judges are not entitled to a blanket immunity merely by virtue of their office. And that’s exactly what the Fourth Circuit affirmed today, ruling that “judicial immunity only protects judicial acts.” When Goldston stepped out of her judicial role, she also stepped out from behind the protections it provides.

Now, Matt gets to have his day in court to hold Goldston accountable for egregiously violating his Fourth Amendment and free speech rights.

This ruling also sends a strong and clear message to judges across the nation: judicial immunity, while nearly absolute, does not protect them when they step outside of their judicial roles.

Please consider giving the support that enables us to protect the constitutional rights guaranteed to all Americans.

Scott

Scott G. Bullock

President and Chief Counsel

Institute for Justice

P.S. We originally found out about this case through our friend and local counsel, John Bryan—though some of you may know him better as The Civil Rights Lawyer on YouTube. John initially represented Matt in the case and will continue to do so after we established the appellate precedent and as the case heads back to the trial court.

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