In the case of Daniel Bogan and Marilyn Roderick v. Janet Scott-Harris, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that local government officials are entitled to legislative immunity from liability under federal law for their decisions related to budget cuts. The suit was brought by Janet Scott-Harris who claimed she was fired from her position as director of a city health department in retaliation for her complaints about racial discrimination within the department. She sued both Mayor Daniel Bogan and City Councilor Marilyn Roderick individually under Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code which allows individuals to sue others acting "under color" of state law for civil rights violations. However, in a unanimous decision written by Justice Stephen G. Breyer, it was held that because these actions were taken in an official capacity with legitimate legislative intent (i.e., reducing costs), they were protected by legislative immunity.

In the dissenting opinion for Bogan v. Scott-Harris, Justice Stevens argued that legislative immunity should not apply to legislators when they are acting in an administrative capacity. He believed that the majority's decision expanded this immunity too broadly and could potentially shield discriminatory actions from legal consequences. Furthermore, he contended that there was enough evidence to suggest a possible violation of equal protection rights which warranted further examination at trial rather than dismissal on grounds of legislative immunity. In essence, his disagreement centered around the interpretation and application of legislative immunity as well as concerns about potential violations of civil rights protections.