Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich, U.S. Marine Corps, brought this 2006 civil action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Congressman John Murtha due to comments made by Congressman Murtha with respect to the unfortunate deaths of civilian lives on November 19, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq. Congressman Murtha’s inflammatory remarks, including calling the involved Marines “cold blooded killers”, were made prior to any determination by an appropriate military tribunal regarding potential criminal liability for the conduct that the Marines took in Haditha.

On September 28, 2007, the District Court authorized limited jurisdictional discovery pertaining to Congressman Murtha’s invocation of absolute immunity. Congressman Murtha appealed the District Court’s oral ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit which reversed the ruling and dismissed the case on March 14, 2009.

Case Files

D.C. Circuit Decision (April 14, 2009)

District Court Order (December 17, 2007)

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