Supreme Court Issues Five Rulings on Foreign Law, Immigration, and Prisoner Rights

Why it matters locally: The Supreme Court's rulings on immigration law, particularly regarding the reentry of lawful permanent residents, could have implications for individuals in Hawaii given its diverse population and connection to international travel.

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The Supreme Court released opinions in five cases on Tuesday, with the decisions dividing the bench along familiar conservative-liberal lines in most rulings. In *Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe I*, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority that the Alien Tort Statute, a 1789 law, permits foreign nationals to bring lawsuits in U.S. courts only for a narrow set of violations that Congress likely contemplated when passing the statute. The court also held that the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 does not allow lawsuits claiming aiding and abetting torture. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, joined in part by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The court voted 6-3 in *Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Corporación Cimex, S.A.* to hold that the Helms-Burton Act overrides sovereign immunity protections for Cuban state agencies, allowing Exxon Mobil to proceed with a lawsuit over confiscated assets. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion. Kagan dissented, joined by Sotomayor and Jackson. In *Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety*, decided 6-3, the court held that state employees cannot face personal liability under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 unless they voluntarily consented to such suits. The case involved Damon Landor, who sued prison officials over the shaving of his head despite a prior court ruling permitting him to maintain long hair for religious reasons. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion, while Jackson dissented with Kagan and Sotomayor. The court unanimously decided *Pung v. Isabella County, Michigan*, with Justice Samuel Alito writing that the proper measure of "just compensation" in tax foreclosure sales is the auction price rather than hypothetical fair market value. Thomas joined in part and wrote separately, while the other seven justices joined Alito's full opinion. In *Blanche v. Lau*, the court split 6-3 in holding that federal immigration law does not require border officers to have "clear and convincing evidence" that lawful permanent residents committed a disqualifying crime before denying them reentry. Justice Clarence Thomas authored the majority opinion. Jackson wrote a dissenting opinion joined by Sotomayor and Kagan. The court will release additional opinions Thursday at 10 a.m. EDT. After those announcements, the justices will meet in private conference to vote on petitions for review.