This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit to take another look <[link removed]> at IJ’s case defending the right of James King to hold law enforcement officers accountable for violating his rights in a brutal and unprovoked attack <[link removed]>.

This means that James’ six-year quest for justice continues. Will you help IJ keep fighting <[link removed]> to ensure that James—and others like him—can hold government officials accountable when they abuse their power?

At first glance, the decision <[link removed]> looked like a painful blow to government accountability. But as I read the opinion today with lead attorney Patrick Jaicomo, who has fought tirelessly for James King for six years, we realized that James’ case is still very much alive.

Amazingly, the Supreme Court often puts important holdings in footnotes, like the infamous footnote 4 of the Carolene Products case of the 1930s establishing modern-day rational basis review. Tucked away in today’s majority opinion is another footnote 4, but this one is of a much better variety. Here, the Court directs the 6th Circuit to address the issue which is at the heart of James’ case and central to IJ’s fight for accountability: whether multiple claims in a single lawsuit cancel each other out simply because the defendant happens to work for the government.

The obvious answer to that question is “no”—and we have a strong concurrence from Justice Sotomayor and hundreds of years of common law backing up our case. Now we return to the 6th Circuit with a Supreme Court mandate to resolve this issue. A victory would pave the way for more accountability in every single case involving federal workers across the nation.

Though this decision hands a technical win to the government, it hands a substantive win to IJ—and, importantly, leaves James a pathway to ultimately vindicate his rights.

We are no stranger to long-haul legal battles, and IJ will press on in our fight to ensure that James, and all Americans, have meaningful legal remedies when their rights are violated by government officials.

Please consider helping us wage this important battle with a tax-deductible donation <[link removed]> today.

Scott

Scott G. Bullock
President and General Counsel
Institute for Justice
Donate Today <[link removed]>

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