Supreme Court seems split in case of boy’s death near border
WASHINGTON — Examining a tragic shooting death on the U.S. border with Mexico, a divided Supreme Court on Tuesday puzzled over the rights of foreigners to sue in American courts.
The case involving a Mexican teen slain by a U.S. Border Patrol agent’s gunshot, which travelled across the border, elicited questions about how a ruling could affect victims of American drone strikes. The court battle over President Donald Trump’s ban on travellers from seven majority Muslim nations also lurked in the background: While the legal issues are different, both issues have courts weighing the rights of foreigners.
A 4-4 tie could provide Judge Neil Gorsuch an early opportunity to cast a key vote if he is confirmed to the court before the term ends in late June.
Tuesday’s case arose from a June 2010 shooting in the wide, concrete-lined ditch — actually the dry bed of the Rio Grande river — that separates El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.