Parole personnel may face Federal liability, primarily Civil Rights action based on Title 42, U.S. Code, Section 1983, and State liability for State tort law violations. Two legal defenses available in these liability cases are the official immunity defense and the good faith defense. Parole board members enjoy quasi-judicial immunity when performing "judge-like" functions, such as the decision to release an inmate on parole and qualified immunity when performing other functions. Parole officers enjoy qualified immunity; they may be sued and held liable unless shielded by an appropriate legal defense, such as good faith. Officers can use the good faith defense if, at the time the act was committed, they did not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. 10 notes