By Steve Neavling
The Supreme Court announced Monday it will review whether the federal government can be held liable for an FBI SWAT raid on the wrong home in suburban Atlanta, where agents smashed down the door, threw a stun grenade, and held a family at gunpoint, The Washington Post reports.
The 2017 raid traumatized Curtrina Martin, her boyfriend Toi Cliatt, and her young son, but their lawsuit seeking damages was dismissed in 2024 when the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the federal government was immune from liability. The family argues the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), which waives immunity for certain actions by federal employees, was intended to protect victims of mistaken raids.
The FTCA, passed in 1946 and amended in 1974 to include law enforcement actions, contains exceptions that courts have interpreted differently. The appeals court ruled that a carve-out shields the government when federal employees exercise discretion within their duties.
Seven members of Congress, including Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged the Supreme Court to hear the case, arguing the 1974 amendment was designed to provide recourse for victims of wrong-house raids.
Former Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, representing the FBI, argued the appeals court’s decision was correct, saying Congress didn’t intend for the government to be liable for discretionary actions by law enforcement.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments and issue a decision by summer.
