The following excerpt is from Barrett v. U.S., 798 F.2d 565 (2nd Cir. 1986):
"Our cases also make plain that '[f]or executive officers in general, ... qualified immunity represents the norm.' Harlow, supra, [457 U.S. 800] at 807 [, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 386]. 2 Like federal officers, state officers who 'seek absolute exemption from personal liability for unconstitutional conduct must bear the burden of showing that public policy requires an exemption of that scope.' Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 506, 98 S.Ct. 2894, 2910, 57 L.Ed.2d 895 (1978).
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