Supreme Court Rules 9/11 Families Cannot Sue Saudi Royals
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled today that families of September 11th victims cannot file a lawsuit against the Saudi royal family.
The high court upheld an appeals court decision that victim's families cannot pursue lawsuits since the Saudis are protected by sovereign immunity, which prevents foreign countries from being sued in U.S. courts.
Nearly 6,000 plaintiffs had planned to sue, claiming money from Saudi Arabia and four of its princes ended up in the hands of al-Qaida members.
Meanwhile, in another decision, the court ruled white firefighters in New Haven, Conn. were unfairly denied promotions due to their race.
In a 5-4 decision, the court said the city was wrong when it threw out results of a promotion exam because the results only allowed a few minorities to rank as lieutenants or captains.
The city argued it discarded results to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.
The ruling is of particular note because it reverses an Appeals Court decision made by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
The White House says the decision proves Sotomayor follows judicial precedent and is not an activist judge, like some Republicans have charged.
If confirmed, Sotomayor would replace outgoing Justice David Souter on the bench.