Foreword: Official Wrongdoing and the Civil Liability of the Federal Government and Officers

During the past several decades, Congress has progressively relaxed the protection of sovereign immunity for the federal government and has granted consent for individuals to seek relief in a judicial forum for most categories of claims against the federal government. In this symposium, the participants addressed the question of how and where to draw the line between those kinds of harm caused by government that are properly the subject for a judicial remedy by a damages judgment against the United States or its officers and those collateral, but sometimes substantial, consequences of vital or policy-oriented government operations that should be shielded from judicial review. Together with introductory words about each contribution to the symposium, this Foreword offers an overview of the law governing governing common-law (Federal Tort Claims Act) and constitutional tort (Bivens) liability for the federal government itself or individual federal government officials.