Latest news with #TrinaMartin
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Supreme Court restores FBI 'wrong house' raid lawsuit
June 12 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court brought back a lawsuit against the FBI over a mishandled home raid from 2017 in Atlanta on Thursday. A unanimous decision moved the case over an incident in which federal agents broke through the door of Trina Martin's home with a search warrant at the wrong address, back to a lower court to look at it again to see if the lawsuit can move forward. Martin sued the government for assault and battery, false arrest and other violations, after the FBI entered her home, where she lived with her then-boyfriend Toi Cliatt and 7-year-old son Gabe Watson, believing it was the home of an alleged violent gang member. The suit alleged that agents entered the home with their guns drawn and set of a flash bang that startled the family and caused Gabe to scream. The Supreme Court ruled that a federal judge in Atlanta and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were wrong to dismiss the suit, ordering them to determine whether the discretionary-function exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act in 2019, under which the suit was filed, would allow the case to go forward. The justices did not answer the question, but allowed the plaintiffs to argue it in the lower courts. "It is work enough for the day to answer the questions we took this case to resolve, clear away the two faulty assumptions on which that court has relied in the past and redirect it to the proper inquiry," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote. "We readily acknowledge that different lower courts have taken different views of the discretionary function exception," Gorsuch continued."We acknowledge, too, that important questions surround whether and under what circumstances that exception may ever foreclose a suit like this one." During the raid Martin's former boyfriend was handcuffed and she wanted to go to her son. She wasn't allowed to move and the 7-year-old woke up to see agents with guns in his room. After the agents realized their mistake they left the house and their supervisor came back to apologize. The FBI had an arrest warrant out for Joseph Riley. After they left Martin's house, FBI raided Riley's house and arrested him. Pattrick Jaicomo, Martin's lawyer in a statement said the court was right to revive the Martin family's case "The Court's decision today acknowledged how far the circuit courts have strayed from the purpose of the Federal Tort Claims Act, which is to ensure remedies to the victims of federal harms-intentional and negligent alike," he said. "We look forward to continuing this fight with the Martins in the Eleventh Circuit and making it easier for everyday people to hold the government accountable for its mistaken and intentional violations of individual rights."
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SCOTUS rules on lawsuit from Atlanta family whose home was wrongly raided by the FBI
The Supreme Court of the United States revived a lawsuit filed by an Atlanta family whose home was mistakenly raided by the FBI. Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln has been following Trina Martin's fight against the federal government for years. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] In October 2017, FBI agents came into Trina Martin's Atlanta home, pointing guns at her and her then-boyfriend while her then-7-year-old son watched in another room. Within a few minutes, agents realized they had the wrong home and left Martin's house. The agent who led the raid said his personal GPS led him to the wrong place while they looked for a suspected gang member a few houses away. It wasn't until an agent double-checked the mailbox numbers that the FBI realized it was the wrong home. The family filed a lawsuit in 2019 that was dismissed by a federal judge. The family's lawyers appealed to the US Supreme Court, which heard the case in April. On Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Eleventh Circuit of Appeals should take another look at the lawsuit. This is a developing story. Stay with Channel 2 Action News for the latest. SCOTUS Ruling by WSB-TV on Scribd RELATED STORIES SCOTUS hearing case of Atlanta family whose home was mistakenly raided by the FBI Georgia family hopes Supreme Court hears their case after FBI mistakenly raided their house The FBI mistakenly raided their Atlanta home. Now the Supreme Court will hear their lawsuit [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Newsweek
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Supreme Court Unanimously Greenlights Lawsuit Over FBI's Botched Raid
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday that an Atlanta family whose home was mistakenly raided by the FBI in 2017 can move forward with their lawsuit, granting them a new day in court. The decision stems from a pre-dawn incident in which an FBI SWAT team broke down the family's front door, deployed a flashbang grenade, and pointed weapons at Trina Martin, her then-boyfriend Toi Cliatt, and her 7-year-old son—only to realize moments later they had entered the wrong house. Although the agents quickly apologized and relocated to the correct address—blaming a GPS error for the mistake—Martin and Cliatt were left with emotional trauma and a damaged home. Their lawsuit against the federal government, alleging assault, false arrest, and other claims, was initially dismissed by lower courts. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that the agents were protected under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, which prioritizes federal law over state law. But Martin's legal team, backed by advocacy groups across the political spectrum, appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that such protections should not shield federal agents from accountability in clear cases of harm. The Court's decision reverses the lower rulings and revives a debate on law enforcement oversight and federal immunity. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court revives lawsuit from Atlanta family whose home was wrongly raided by the FBI
WASHINGTON (AP) — An Atlanta family whose home was wrongly raided by the FBI will get a new day in court, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday. The opinion comes after a predawn 2017 raid in which an armed FBI SWAT team smashed in a front door and set off a flashbang grenade, pointing guns at a couple and terrifying a 7-year-old boy before realizing they were in the wrong house. The FBI team quickly apologized and left for the right place, with the team leader later saying that his personal GPS device had led him to the wrong address. But Trina Martin and her then-boyfriend, Toi Cliatt, and her son were left with trauma and a damaged home. Martin and Cliatt filed a lawsuit against the federal government accusing the agents of assault and battery, false arrest and other violations. But lower courts tossed out the case. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found they couldn't sue over what amounted to an honest mistake. The appeals court also found the lawsuit was barred under a provision of the Constitution known as the Supremacy Clause, which says federal laws take precedence over state laws. The family's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that Congress clearly allowed for lawsuits like theirs after a pair of similar headline-making raids on wrong houses in 1974. The 11th Circuit was also ruling differently than other courts around the country, they said. Public interest groups from across the political spectrum urged the justices to overturn the ruling, saying its reasoning would severely narrow the legal path for people to sue the federal government in law-enforcement accountability cases. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press
USA Today
12-06-2025
- USA Today
Supreme Court sends Atlanta family's lawsuit against FBI back to lower court for more review
Supreme Court sends Atlanta family's lawsuit against FBI back to lower court for more review Show Caption Hide Caption Can FBI be sued if agents raid wrong house? Supreme Court to weigh in. Trina Martin, son Gabe Watson and partner Toi Cliatt seek compensation after their house was mistakenly raided by the FBI. WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court sent a case involving an Atlanta family seeking to sue the FBI for raiding their house back to a lower court for more consideration, but left unresolved the broader question of how much protection from lawsuits the courts should give law enforcement officers mistakes on the job. Trina Martin, her son Gabe and her partner Toi Cliatt awoke one morning in October 2017 to what she called the 'monstrous noise' of a half-dozen FBI agents barging into their home with guns drawn. But the Special Weapons and Tactics team was at the wrong home, 436 feet from a similar beige, split-level house where a suspected gang member lived. Federal courts dismissed the family's lawsuit for compensation over the mistake by ruling courts shouldn't second-guess law enforcement officers. The Supreme Court unanimously overturned the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissal of the case on June 12. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court that there are several exceptions to whether law enforcement officers can be sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act and the appeals court should review them again. Martin, her son who was 7 years old at the time of the raid, and Cliatt each feared they could be killed when the SWAT team burst noisily into their house. The ordeal lasted about five minutes before the FBI agents realized their mistake and headed out to the correct house. The FBI agents described their meticulous planning to search the house by locating it with GPS during daylight, taking pictures and drawing up a tactical plan. Congress changed the Federal Tort Claims Act in 1974 to allow lawsuits against law enforcement after two wrong-house raids the year before. But the government argued that judges shouldn't second-guess agents doing their jobs. A District Court and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case by finding the agents were immune.
