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.
STATE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY AND TORT LIABILITY IN ALL 50 STATES Sovereign or governmental immunity concern themselves with the various legal doctrines or statutes that provide federal, state, or local governments immunity from tort-based claims, as well as exceptions to or waivers of that immunity. Generally, a state government is immune from tort suits by individuals under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.