Once upon a time, the US Supreme Court slowly took up narrow issues. But today, the Roberts Court aggressively reaches out and renders sweeping rulings. Thus, it was surprising – but understandable – that the Court has ordered for next fall re-argument of the Kiobel case on the scope of our Alien Tort Statute. The order calls for expanded briefing on the jurisdiction of our federal courts to hear claims involving a claim by "an alien" against "an alien" with respect to events occurring outside the US. More specifics are here from Lyle Deniston writing on the SCOTUS blog.
One would think some analogies will be drawn to tort cases involving claims against manufacturers outside the US. Global immigration patterns also seem germane – indeed, all of our founders were immigrants.
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