United States v. Humberto Alvarez-Machain et al.

Questions presented

SCOTUS records

1. The Alien Tort Act ("ATA"), 28 U.S.C. § 1350, provides as follows: "The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States. " The questions presented are:
2. Whether the ATA, is simply a grant of jurisdiction, or whether, in addition to granting jurisdiction, it provides a cause of action upon which aliens may sue for torts in violation of the law of nations or treaties of the United States.
3. If the ATA provides a cause of action, whether the actions it authorizes are limited to suits for violations of jus cogens norms of international law.
4. Whether a detention that lasts less than 24 hours, results in no physical harm to the detainee, and is undertaken by a private individual under instructions from senior United States law enforcement officials, constitutes a tort in violation of the law of nations actionable under the ATA. 03-485 UNITED STATES v. ALVAREZ-MACHAIN Ruling below: CA 9, 331 F.3d 604 QUESTIONS PRESENTED:
5. Whether federal law enforcement officers, and agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration in particular, have authority to enforce a federal criminal statute that applies to acts perpetrated against a United States official in a foreign country by arresting an indicted criminal suspect on probable cause in a foreign country.
6. Whether an individual arrested in a foreign country may bring an action under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U .S.C. 1346(b), 2671 et seq., for false arrest, notwithstanding the FTCA's exclusion of "[a]ny claim arising in a foreign country ," 28 U.S.C. 2680(k), because the arrest was planned in the United States. CERT. GRANTED: 12/1/03 Consolidated for one hour oral argument.

Opinion summary

Etalia.ai summary of the majority opinion

The case involved Humberto Alvarez-Machain, a Mexican national who was forcibly abducted from Mexico by U.S. agents to stand trial in the United States for his alleged involvement in the torture and murder of a DEA agent. The Supreme Court held that such an abduction did not violate the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Mexico, as it did not explicitly prohibit forcible abductions. Therefore, Alvarez-Machain could be tried in U.S. courts despite being brought there through extrajudicial means.