Dear John:

Just weeks ago, I shared the news that IJ argued a crucial case before the U.S. Supreme Court. We’re fighting on behalf of Trina Martin, her son Gabe, and Trina’s then-partner, Toi Cliatt, whose lives were turned upside down when an FBI SWAT team stormed into their house—the wrong house—during an early-morning raid. 

Today, I’m delighted to tell you: We won. 

In a 9-0 ruling (two Justices wrote a separate opinion but they concurred in the result), the Court overturned the lower court decision and held that the Martin family’s lawsuit may proceed under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The Court sent the case back to the 11th Circuit and urged a “careful reexamination” of the case.

As I previewed in my email to you after the argument in April, this is a narrow victory—the Court didn’t answer several other questions surrounding the FTCA—but it is still an important milestone in our work to challenge sweeping immunity doctrines and hold government officials accountable when they violate the law.  For the Martin family, that means they are steps closer to vindicating their rights in court. And, more broadly, victims of abuse by federal agents and officials should now have a powerful tool to seek accountability.

We always knew this wouldn’t be a silver bullet case. And indeed, no case will be. That’s why IJ’s model is to chip away at systemic injustice one case at a time and to build a body of lasting precedent that applies to as many individuals as possible. Right now, we have several other cases on our docket challenging similar immunity barriers. And we’re committed to bringing those issues before the Supreme Court again.

Today, we celebrate this victory with Trina, Gabe, and Toi. They are one step closer to justice. I thought I would close by sharing a special moment from this morning when I gathered with the IJ team on the case and lead attorney Patrick Jaicomo when he called our client Trina with news of the Court’s decision. It captures what our fight is about: