Given the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent string of bombshell decisions, including the decision on presidential immunity in Trump v. United States, 603 U. S. ____ (2024), I feel compelled to write about Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731 (1982), for this issue’s installment of “A Page Out of Legal History,” which examines a significant legal event from the year of the author’s birth or law school graduation.
Nixon v. Fitzgerald was a landmark ruling that significantly shaped the doctrine of presidential immunity. The case centered on the firing of A. Ernest Fitzgerald, a management analyst with the U.S. Air Force. In 1968, Fitzgerald testified before Congress about cost overruns and technical issues with a military aircraft project. Following his testimony, he was dismissed from his job in 1970 during President Richard Nixon’s administration, allegedly as part of a departmental reorganization. Fitzgerald claimed his dismissal was retaliation for his congressional testimony and filed a lawsuit against Nixon and other officials, alleging violations of his First Amendment rights and wrongful termination.