Mike Fox
In 2017, under the cover of darkness, Trina Martin and her family endured a terrifying ordeal when an FBI SWAT team detonated a flashbang in their Atlanta home, jolting the young family to their feet. Agents quickly realized they were at the wrong address and abruptly left, leaving the home in shambles, the family’s inner peace shattered by the actions of government agents who couldn’t be bothered to do their due diligence.
Though insurance covered the physical damage, the family sought redress for the severe emotional trauma brought about by the raid under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
For much of our nation’s history, sovereign immunity shielded the federal government from liability for the acts of federal employees. In 1946, Congress enacted the FTCA to waive sovereign immunity and provide a remedy for individuals harmed by the torts of federal employees.
Nearly 30 years later, Congress extended the FTCA, adding the law enforcement proviso explicitly to ensure that the statute covers wrong house raids. This was of no consolation to Martin when the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied her claim, asserting that the FBI agents’ actions fell under the “discretionary-function exception” to the FTCA, thus barring her claims and leaving her and her family without recourse.
Next month, the Supreme Court will hear an oral argument in Martin v. United States to address this critical issue. The Cato Institute, along with Public Accountability and the American Civil Liberties Union, filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to reverse the Eleventh Circuit. The brief explains that Congress added the law enforcement proviso in 1974 following two wrong house raids explicitly to ensure that individuals like Martin have a remedy for harms caused by federal agents executing wrong house raids.
The brief further argues that the “discretionary-function exception” should not apply to unconstitutional conduct, such as the mistaken raid of the Martin home. Lastly, the brief cautions the Court not to extend the judicially invented doctrine of qualified immunity to shield the federal government from liability under the FTCA.
The Supreme Court should apply the law as enacted by Congress and allow Martin’s lawsuit to proceed.