Economou v. US Dept. of Agriculture, 535 F.2d688 (2d Cir. 1976).
Holding
Neither Barr v. Matteo, 360 U. S. 564, nor Spalding v. Vilas, 161 U. S. 483, supports petitioners' contention that all of the federal officials sued in this case are absolutely immune from any liability for damages even if, in the course of enforcing the relevant statutes, they infringed respondent's constitutional rights, and even if the violation was knowing and deliberate.
To obtain a § 5861(d) conviction, the Government should have been required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Staples knew that his rifle had the characteristics that brought it within the statutory definition of a machinegun.
