- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.world
An Atlanta family whose home was wrongly raided by the FBI will get a new day in court, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday.
The opinion comes after a predawn 2017 raid in which an armed FBI SWAT team smashed in a front door and set off a flashbang grenade, pointing guns at a couple and terrifying a 7-year-old boy before realizing they were in the wrong house.
The FBI team quickly apologized and left for the right place, with the team leader later saying that his personal GPS device had led him to the wrong address. But Trina Martin and her then-boyfriend, Toi Cliatt, and her son were left with trauma and a damaged home.
Martin and Cliatt filed a lawsuit against the federal government accusing the agents of assault and battery, false arrest and other violations. But lower courts tossed out the case. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found they couldn’t sue over what amounted to an honest mistake.
About half of SCOTUS decisions are unanimous. The just don’t make the news.
The 6/3 splits usually do but they’re actually much more rare.