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Decided on September 23, 2003
Supreme Court, Nassau County

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John DiBlasi, J.
"Since the seventeenth century, the common law has immunized judges from damage claims arising out of their judicial acts" (Tucker v. Outwater, 118 F.3d 930,932 [2d Cir. 1997], cert. denied 522 U.S. 997 [1997]), a doctrine "embraced" (ibid.) by the highest court of the State of New York almost two centuries ago (Yates v. Lansing, 5 Johns. 282,291 [1810], affd. 9 Johns. 395 [1811]) and by the United States Supreme Court for the past 130 years (Bradley v. Fisher, 80 U.S. [13 Wall.] 335 [1871]). Indeed, as recognized by the high court in Bradley, it is "a general principle of the highest importance to the proper administration of justice that a judicial officer, in exercising the authority vested in him, shall be free to act upon his own convictions, without apprehension of personal consequences to himself" (id., 80 U.S., at 347). For that reason, it has been and remains the law of this country that except when a judge acts in the absence of all jurisdiction, he is immune from suit for his actions (Bradley v. Fisher, supra; Alvarez v. Snyder, 264 AD2d 27,34 [1st Dept. 2000], lv. denied 95 NY2d 759 [2000], cert. denied sub nom. Diaz v. Snyder, 531 U.S. 1158 [2001]).
Notwithstanding that settled principle and the numerous reported decisions which have adhered to it, plaintiff at bar, an attorney and a Village Justice who may be said to be "at war" with defendant Nassau County Court Judge Donald DeRiggi, has instituted this lawsuit claiming, in general terms, that Judge DeRiggi, both acting alone and in conspiracy with co-defendant Ernest J. Peace, an attorney, defamed him. Because this lawsuit is entirely without support in fact and law, the complaint is dismissed to the extent that it asserts any claims against Judge DeRiggi either individually or in his capacity as a Judge of the Nassau County Court.
I. RELEVANT FACTUAL Background
The genesis of this action is a criminal proceeding, People v. John P. Daly (the Daly case), tried to a jury in Nassau County Court with Judge DeRiggi presiding, at which Daly was represented by Peace. Following Daly's conviction but prior to his sentencing, Peace was discharged as counsel by his client and plaintiff was retained to represent him in all further proceedings.
The first significant step taken by plaintiff was the filing of a motion for relief from Daly's conviction pursuant to CPL

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