Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority

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Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum

Docket No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
11-88	D.C. Cir.	Feb 28, 2012 Tr.Aud.	Apr 18, 2012	9-0	Sotomayor	OT 2011

Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C. serves as counsel to the petitioners in this case.

Holding: As it is used in the Torture Victim Protection Act, the term “individual” encompasses only natural persons and therefore does not impose liability on organizations.

Judgment: Affirmed, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Sotomayor on April 18, 2012. Justice Scalia did not join the opinion as to Part III-B. Justice Breyer filed a concurring opinion.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

In Plain English: Recent decisions (Amy Howe)
Opinion analysis: Anti-torture law given narrow scope (UPDATED) (Lyle Denniston)
Kiobel to be expanded and reargued (Lyle Denniston)
Argument recap: Downhill, from the start (Lyle Denniston)
SCOTUS for law students (sponsored by Bloomberg Law): Torture and jurisdiction (Stephen Wermiel)
Argument preview: Human rights abuses and the law (Lyle Denniston)
Plain English: Recent grants (Amy Howe)
Court to rule on suing corporations and PLO (UPDATED) (Lyle Denniston)

Briefs and Documents

Merits Briefs for the Petitioners

Amicus Briefs in Support of the Petitioners

Amicus Briefs in Support of Neither Party

Merits Briefs for Respondents

Brief for Palestinian Authority et al.

Amicus Briefs in Support of the Respondents

Brief for KBR, Inc.

Certiorari-stage documents

Featured Posts

Relist Watch: The Muller Report – John Elwood

Argument analysis: Court worries that state trust tax may tax trust income that is never distributed to in-state beneficiary – Erin Scharff

Argument analysis: Spinning heads and swimming constitutional rights in debates over an accrual rule – Howard M. Wasserman
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The Supreme Court released orders from the April 12 conference on Monday; the justices called for the views of the U.S. solicitor general in Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.
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- Lamone v. Benisek
  In case in which the plaintiffs allege that a Maryland congressional district was gerrymandered to retaliate against them for their political views: (1) whether the various legal claims articulated by the three-judge district court are unmanageable; (2) whether the three-judge district court erred when, in granting plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, it resolved disputes of material fact as to multiple elements of plaintiffs’ claims, failed to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and treated as “undisputed” evidence that is the subject of still-unresolved hearsay and other evidentiary objections; and (3) whether the three-judge district court abused its discretion in entering an injunction despite the plaintiffs’ years-long delay in seeking injunctive relief, rendering the remedy applicable to at most one election before the next decennial census necessitates another redistricting.
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Recent Decisions
- Biestek v. Berryhill A vocational expert’s refusal to provide private market-survey data during a Social Security disability benefits hearing upon the applicant’s request does not categorically preclude the testimony from counting as “substantial evidence” in federal court under 42 U. S. C. §405(g).
- Bucklew v. Precythe Baze v. Rees and Glossip v. Gross govern all Eighth Amendment challenges alleging that a method of execution inflicts unconstitutionally cruel pain; Russell Bucklew’s as-applied challenge to Missouri’s single-drug execution protocol -- that it would cause him severe pain because of his particular medical condition -- fails to satisfy the Baze-Glossip test.
- Lorenzo v. Securities and Exchange Commission Dissemination of false or misleading statements with intent to defraud can fall within the scope of Securities and Exchange Commission Rules 10b–5(a) and (c), as well as the relevant statutory provisions, even if the disseminator cannot be held liable under Rule 10b–5(b).
- Republic of Sudan v. Harrison When civil process is served on a foreign state under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, 28 U. S. C. §1608(a)(3) requires a mailing to be sent directly to the foreign minister’s office in the foreign state.
- Sturgeon v. Frost Alaska’s Nation River is not public land; and like all non-public lands and navigable waters within Alaska’s national parks, it is exempt under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act from the National Park Service’s ordinary regulatory authority.
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Current Relists
- Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda Whether the prohibition in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1), against employment discrimination “because of . . . sex” encompasses discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation.
- Barton v. Barr Whether a lawfully admitted permanent resident who is not seeking admission to the United States can be “render[ed] . . . inadmissible” for the purposes of the stop-time rule, 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(d)(1).
- Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia Whether discrimination against an employee because of sexual orientation constitutes prohibited employment discrimination “because of . . . sex” within the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2.
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Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority

SCOTUSblog Coverage

Briefs and Documents

Certiorari-stage documents

Featured Posts

Relist Watch: The Muller Report – John Elwood

Argument analysis: Court worries that state trust tax may tax trust income that is never distributed to in-state beneficiary – Erin Scharff

Argument analysis: Spinning heads and swimming constitutional rights in debates over an accrual rule – Howard M. Wasserman

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Merits Case Pages and Archives

Major Cases

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Conference of April 19, 2019

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Apr. 2019

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Videos see all

Peabody Award

Sigma Delta Chi

National Press Club Award

Silver Gavel Award

American Gavel Award

Webby Award