Stepanek v. Delta County

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• recognizing prosecutorial immunity and finding that county attorneys are also entitled to immunity when performing prosecutorial functions
• noting that absolute immunity allows key participants in the judicial process to perform their respective functions without harassment or intimidation
• stating that “[a]ll hearings on complaints seeking disciplinary action against a respondent shall be conducted by a Hearing Board” (emphasis added)
• imposition of Rule 11 sanctions does not necessitate showing of bad faith on part of attorney who certifies pleading; instead, sanctions are appropriate where attorney’s signed pleading fails to meet test of objective reasonableness
• \The purpose behind a grant of absolute immunity is to preserve the independent decision-making and truthfulness of critical judicial participants without subjecting them to the fear and apprehension that may result from a threat of personal liability .\ (emphases added)

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).

Cited by

14 cases in this archive cite this case.

• American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado, Inc. , Amicus Curiae
  Tenth Circuit· 2000-07-06· cited 279×
• In Re Trupp
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 2004-06-28· cited 58×
• SRS, Inc. v. Southward
  Colorado Court of Appeals· 2012-02-02· cited 51×
• Whaley v. State
  Court of Appeals of Washington· 1998-03-30· cited 44×
• Anderson v. Pursell
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 2011-01-10· cited 44×
• Caldwell v. Cummings
  Wyoming Supreme Court· 2001-11-06· cited 15×
• People v. Trupp
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 2002-06-10· cited 14×
• Hoffler v. Colorado Department of Corrections
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 2001-07-02· cited 10×
• Barton v. City and County of Denver
  D. Colorado· 2006-06-02· cited 7×
• Ashley Hushen, Julie Hushen, Alexandra Weary, and Nicole Weary v. Benjamin Gonzales.
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 2025-06-09· cited 7×
• Parental Responsibilities Concerning C.E.S.K.
  Colorado Court of Appeals· 2025-05-22· cited 5×
• State of Colorado v. Robert J. Hopp & Associates, LLC
  Colorado Court of Appeals· 2018-05-17· cited 4×
• Scott v. Hern
  Tenth Circuit· 2000-06-06
• CenturyLink, Inc.; Glen F. Post, III; R. Stewart Ewing, Jr.; David D. Cole; William A. Owens; Martha H. Bejar; Virginia Boulet; Peter C. Brown; W. Bruce Hanks; Jeffrey K. Storey; Steven T. Clontz; Mary L. Landrieu; Gregory J. McCray; Harvey P. Perry; Michael J. Roberts; Laurie A. Siegel; and Sunit S. Patel v. Dean Houser
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 2026-04-06

Cites

21 cases in this archive are cited by this case; the 20 most cited are listed.

• Imbler v. Pachtman
  Supreme Court· 1976-03-02· cited 7,274×
• Cooter & Gell v. Hartmarx Corp.
  Supreme Court· 1990-06-11· cited 4,510×
• Pierson v. Ray
  Supreme Court· 1967-04-11· cited 4,282×
• Butz v. Economou
  Supreme Court· 1978-06-29· cited 3,397×
• Briscoe v. LaHue
  Supreme Court· 1983-03-07· cited 2,053×
• Pulliam v. Allen
  Supreme Court· 1984-05-14· cited 857×
• Greg Myers, Etc. v. R. Kathleen Morris, Scott County Attorney, Etc.
  Eighth Circuit· 1987-04-09· cited 525×
• Western United Realty, Inc. v. Isaacs
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 1984-03-26· cited 185×
• Cross & Cross Properties, Ltd., Cross-Appellant v. Everett Allied Company, Cross-Appellee
  Second Circuit· 1989-09-21· cited 116×
• United States v. Pedro Gomez, Fernando Magana, and Rigoberto Vela
  Seventh Circuit· 1994-05-16· cited 96×
• Van Waters & Rogers, Inc. v. Keelan
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 1992-11-23· cited 96×
• Wood Bros. Homes, Inc. v. Howard
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 1993-11-15· cited 88×
• United States v. William R. Bell
  Seventh Circuit· 1990-05-11· cited 43×
• State Board of Chiropractic Examiners v. Stjernholm
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 1997-04-07· cited 37×
• Kurzawa v. Mueller
  Sixth Circuit· 1984-03-22· cited 34×
• Mcmahon v. Shearson/American Express, Inc.
  Second Circuit· 1990-02-14· cited 32×
• State v. Mason
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 1986-09-02· cited 17×
• Leader Federal Bank for Savings v. Saunders
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 1997-01-13· cited 13×
• Wagner v. Board of County Commissioners of Rio Blanco County
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 1997-03-10· cited 12×
• Carothers v. Department of Institutions, Grand Junction Regional Center
  Supreme Court of Colorado· 1993-02-16· cited 5×