‘Stumped,’ by Debora Threedy: A Legal and Historical Context

11 Pages Posted: 12 Mar 2018

See all articles by Laura T. Kessler

Laura T. Kessler

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law

Date Written: September 23, 2013

Abstract

This paper appeared as part of a published symposium consisting of a play and three articles that, together, tell the story of Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349 (1978). The case has entered the legal canon as the leading decision on judicial immunity, but the litigation arose from the involuntary sterilization of a minor. Linda Sparkman was sterilized at age fifteen pursuant to a court order that her mother had obtained from a state judge without any notice to her, appointment of a guardian ad litem, presentation of evidence, or opportunity to appeal. As an adult, she learned of what happened to her and sued the judge. The Supreme Court declared that judges are absolutely immune from liability for their official judicial acts, even if such acts are done maliciously or flawed by the commission of grave procedural errors. Law professor Debora Threedy's play, "Stumped," addresses the injustices of the Stump decision. This paper, presented and the 14th annual conference of the Association for the Study of Law, Culture, and the Humanities and published alongside Threedy's play in a symposium issue of the UMKC Law Review, provides a summary of the historical, social, and legal context for the litigation that inspired the play.

Keywords: reproductive justice, law, culture, and the humanities

JEL Classification: K36, K4

Suggested Citation

Kessler, Laura T., ‘Stumped,’ by Debora Threedy: A Legal and Historical Context (September 23, 2013). University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review, Vol. 81, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3136057

Laura T. Kessler (Contact Author)

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law ( email )

383 South University St.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
United States
801-585-9697 (Phone)
801-581-6897 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.utah.edu/u0294453-LAURA_T_KESSLER/hm/index.hml

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
55
Abstract Views
583
Rank
794,547
PlumX Metrics