The nation’s top court was busy Thursday, releasing opinions on six cases as the justices work to clear their docket by early July.
The U.S. Supreme Court handed down unanimous rulings siding with a family whose home was mistakenly raided by a SWAT team, and a teenager with epilepsy who sued for financial compensation in a school discrimination lawsuit.
In both cases, the justices voted 9-0 in favor of the defendants.
The other four cases addressed issues of veterans’ compensation, solitary confinement, child sexual abuse and unpaid taxes.
Wrong-home FBI raid
9-0 ruling
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of a Georgia family whose home was erroneously the target of an FBI raid after an agent’s GPS device led his SWAT team to the incorrect address.
The court’s ruling allows Hilliard Toi Cliatt and Curtrina Martin to revive their case against the federal government that was previously tossed out by lower courts.
A SWAT team smashed down the front door of Cliatt and Martin’s home with a battering ram early one morning in 2017. The agents let off a flash-bang grenade and entered the home with their guns drawn.
Cliatt and Martin barricaded themselves in a closet before agents dragged Cliatt out and handcuffed him at gunpoint. A seven-year-old boy was asleep in the next room.
The agents had a warrant for a different home where gang members were suspected to be hiding out. The SWAT team quickly realized their mistake after asking Cliatt for his address.
While lower courts sided with the federal agents on account of an honest mistake, the justices argued Thursday that the agents ignored several warning signs that they were at an incorrect address, including a different house number and the wrong car parked in the driveway.
Epilepsy disability discrimination lawsuit
9-0 ruling
A teenage girl and her parents won a disability discrimination case in the Supreme Court on Thursday after suing a Minnesota school district for failing to accommodate the needs of her rare form of epilepsy.
The lawsuit sought compensatory damages for costs the couple paid to ensure their daughter received full-time education. The Minnesota school district’s failure to provide accommodations for the teenager left her receiving 65% as much instructional time as her peers.
While the family previously won in court to have their daughter’s accommodations met in school, their case requesting compensatory damages for educational costs paid prior to this ruling was denied.
The Supreme Court’s decision allows the couple and their daughter to retry their case seeking monetary compensation in lower courts.
This decision paves an easier road for students with disabilities to win in court under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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The Supreme Court has still not ruled on five major cases of the current term.
The justices began their term last October. They will release the remaining opinions by early July before leaving for their summer recess.
These cases include a highly anticipated ruling on President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship. The court will also make decisions on age verification for pornography websites and transgender medical care for children.
The court historically leaves cases that have garnered the most public attention for last.
