Prison Officers Immune From Lawsuits Brought Under FTCA
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a circuit split and held 5-4 that an exception to the Federal Torts Claim Act that grants immunity to "any officer of customs or excise or any other law enforcement officer" applies to "all law enforcement officers." Thus, under the majority opinion in Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, written by Justice Thomas, law enforcement officers who steal prisoners' personal property while engaged in their official duties are immune from lawsuits brought by prison inmates.
The New York Times reported on the decision, and noted the unusual line-up of Justices as well the Court's internal disagreement regarding how to engage in statutory interpretation. The article highlighted Justice Kennedy's dissenting opinion, in which he wrote "the Court’s analysis cannot be squared with the longstanding recognition that a single word must not be read in isolation but instead defined by reference to its statutory context."