Justices bar Mexican parents from suing over cross-border shooting of teen

Odd another 5-4 win.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the family of a Mexican teenager killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a cross-border shooting cannot sue in American federal court.

Justice Samuel Alito, in his 5-4 conservative majority opinion, said the court steered a cautious route given the potential implications on U.S. foreign policy and national security presented by the “tragic case.”

Alito, joined by the court’s reliable conservatives Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Chief Justice John Roberts, ruled that courts should yield to the executive branch and Congress to handle instances of lethal cross-border force by agents.

The conservative majority also highlighted the “large volume of illegal cross-border traffic” and widespread drug-smuggling efforts, in explaining their judicial restraint.

The court’s four liberal justices joined a dissent written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ginsburg’s dissent was joined by Justices Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. LINK