On this day in 1970, Sam Sheppard, a doctor convicted of murdering his pregnant wife in a trial that caused a media frenzy in the 1950s, dies of liver failure. After a decade in prison, Sheppard was released following a re-trial.
Official Immunity Law and Legal Definition. Official immunity is a discretionary immunity from personal liability that is granted to public officers for tortious acts and omissions. It is a personal immunity accorded to a public official from liability to anyone injured by actions that are the consequence of exerting official authority.
The doctrine of sovereign immunity has its roots in the law of feudal England and is based on the tenet that the ruler can do no wrong. Public policy grounds for granting immunity from civil lawsuits to judges and officials in the Executive Branch of government survive even today.