WASHINGTON — An Atlanta woman whose house was wrongly raided by the FBI will go before the Supreme Court on Tuesday in a key case over when people can sue to try to hold federal law enforcement accountable.
Trina Martin’s lawyers are asking the justices to revive the lawsuit she filed after agents broke down her door before dawn in 2017, pointing guns at her then-boyfriend and terrifying her 7-year-old son.
The FBI team had meant to raid a different house down the street. They apologized and left, with the team leader later saying that his personal GPS had led him to the wrong place.
The government says judges shouldn’t be second-guessing decisions made in the heat of the moment and Martin can’t sue over what amounted to an honest mistake. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, tossing out the lawsuit in 2022.
Public interest groups from across the political spectrum urged the court to overturn the ruling, saying it differs from other courts around the country and its reasoning would severely narrow the legal path for people to try and hold federal law enforcement accountable in court.