Summary: This week the Court heard oral arguments in five cases. There were no new grants of certiorari and no opinions. We discuss the following cases: Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. wherein the Supreme Court looks at claims by Nigerian citizens of tort and human rights violations by international oil companies in the Niger Delta. Under the U.S. Alien Tort Statute, foreign nationals can bring tort claims in U.S. courts-- but until now, those claims have always been against other individuals. The court must determine whether a corporation can be held liable for torts and human rights violations under the Alien Tort Statute. Armour v. Indianapolis, which concerns whether the city of Indianapolis could properly choose to reimburse some taxpayers, mostly low and middle income taxpayers, and not others, mostly wealthier taxpayers, for payments into a fund that was ultimately canceled - or whether such discriminatory treatment violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority, concerning a case brought by the family of an American citizen seeking to hold the Palestinian Authority liable for the wrongful death of their family member under the Torture Victim Protection Act. The act creatives civil liability for individuals and the lower courts held that organizations were not included within the scope of the act. The Petitioner claims that Individual was used to differentiate governments from non-state actors, rather than to allow organizations to go free where individuals would be held responsible. Wood v. Milyard, wherein the Court considers when a state in habeas corpus case fails to argue that a petition is untimely, whether an appellate court may raise and decide the issue on its own. ORAL ARGUMENT TRANSCRIPTS AND AUDIO (click to download) Elgin v. Department of Treasury (11-45) Audio Transcript Wood v. Milyard (10-9995) Audio Transcript Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. (10-1491) Audio Transcript Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority (11-88) Audio Transcrit Armour v. Indianapolis (11-161) Audio Transcrit
