Doe v. McMillan - Significance

Doe v. McMillan set important limits on immunity from civil liability for government officials.

This case revolved around a 450-page report submitted to the Speaker of the House by a Special Select Subcommittee on the District of Columbia. The report included a section on disciplinary problems in the Washington D.C. school system and contained absence sheets, lists of absentees, copies of test papers, and documents relating to disciplinary problems of certain specifically named students. When the report was made public, a group of parents of these school children sued for damages, claiming an invasion of privacy. The defendants they targeted included members of the House committee, committee employees, a committee investigator, the Public Printer, the Superintendent of Documents, and various employees of the school system. The case first went to U.S. District Court.