Supreme Court to hear case over FBI's mistaken home raid
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Toi Cliatt, Trina Martin and her son, Gabe Watson. Photo: Thomas Wheatley/Axios
On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of an Atlanta woman who wants the FBI to pay damages for mistakenly raiding her home.
Why it matters: Trina Martin's case could determine whether she and other people can sue federal law enforcement officers, who are often shielded from liability, for their mistakes.
Catch up quick: In the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2017, Martin and her son Gabe Watson, as well as her then-boyfriend, Toi Cliatt, were jolted awake by a flash-bang grenade detonating in their suburban Atlanta home.
- Roughly a half-dozen agents stormed the house. Watson, who was 7 years old at the time, screamed for his mother while Martin and Cliatt were held at gunpoint, according to 11 Alive.
Yes, but: The target of the raid actually lived less than 500 feet away on a different street in a similar-looking house.
Zoom in: The family was never compensated by the federal government for the damage or the trauma caused by the "wrong house" raid, according to ABC News. Martin's son developed anxiety. She quit her job coaching track because the starting gun scared her.
- In 2019, the family filed a lawsuit against the FBI under the Federal Tort Claims Act accusing the agency of trespass, assault and battery, emotional distress and more.
- The law allows individuals to sue government employees acting in their official capacity for some civil wrongs.
State of play: A federal judge dismissed Martin's case in 2022, ruling that the Constitution's Supremacy Clause blocked some claims and the FBI was immune.
- The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the ruling two years later. The nation's highest court took up the case this January.
The other side: Justice Department lawyers argue that the FBI team operated in good faith — officers created a detailed plan to execute the raid, they said — and acted in an official capacity. Judges should not second-guess the team's decisions, they said.
What they're saying: "According to the court, Trina, Gabe, and Toi had no remedy for the raid because the almost-deadly mistakes that led the FBI to kick in an innocent family's door were arguably characterized as a 'policy decision,'" the Institute for Justice, the libertarian legal nonprofit arguing the Martins' case, said in a statement.
What's next: The court begins hearing oral arguments at 10am. Listen.