SCOTUS DECLINES TO REVIEW DISMISSAL OF LAWSUIT RELATED TO AIRPORT SEARCHES
December 27, 2024
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On November 12, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) declined to review the dismissal of a lawsuit in which a Muslim family alleges that they were subjected to extensive searches and interrogations while traveling to Jordan in 2018. The family, who are of Jordanian descent, believe that they were wrongly placed on a terrorist watch list based on extensive airport searches yet the federal government refuses to confirm whether the family is included on any such list. The searches at issue lasted for more than two hours at the airport in Los Angeles followed by another two-hour interrogation when the family arrived in Jordan. A federal district judge initially dismissed the lawsuit for lack of standing. On appeal, the circuit court affirmed noting that any family member not on the list lacked standing to seek forward-looking relief absent a showing of a concreate future injury. Citing an ex parte declaration by a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent, the circuit court ruled that the family was unable to demonstrate concreate plans to travel with a listed family member and could not show a “sufficiently imminent and substantial” likelihood of being included on any terrorist watch list going forward. SCOTUS ultimately left the circuit court’s decision untouched by declining to review.
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