The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos during the 2024-2025 docket season. The decision of the lawsuit will determine whether U.S. gun manufacturers can be held liable for armed crimes committed outside of U.S. territory by Mexican crime rings using their weapons. The specific rationale provided by the Mexican government, the respondent of the case, is that Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. is guilty of proximate causation as well as aiding and abetting Mexican cartels in committing violence against the Mexican state. Given U.S. gun manufacturers’ knowledge that they are selling to known arms suppliers to Mexican cartels, coupled with the monetary burdens assumed by the Mexican government in response to increased gun violence across the country, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act’s “predicate exemption” indicates that the U.S. gun manufacturers listed in the lawsuit are not exempt from legal consequence. As such, should the Supreme Court rule in favor of the Mexican government, its decision would be warranted.
Read More
On November 29, 2022, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments for United States v. Texas. A decision from the Supreme Court is expected to be released in June 2023 to either reinstate the Mayorkas Memorandum or vacate it, which would render a larger number of undocumented immigrants subject to deportation by ICE. The case’s ruling will have broad implications for states’ ability to challenge federal immigration policy through the judiciary, including possibly making established legal precedent concerning undocumented immigrants more easily contestable by anti-immigration states.
Read More