Supreme Court hears arguments in government immunity case News
Supreme Court hears arguments in government immunity case

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday heard oral arguments in Will v. Hallock [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs] where it will decide whether a plaintiff who sued the federal government for an alleged constitutional violation is barred from suing individual government employees for the same conduct. In the case, the Court heard the appeal of Susan Hallock, whose computer software company went out of business after her husband Richard was mistakenly targeted in a child pornography investigation. Hallock first filed suit against the government under the Federal Tort Claim Act [LectLaw summary], and later filed a claim against customs agents who seized the plaintiff's computer equipment after the first claim was dismissed. Hallock's attorney alleges that the government's seizure of computers and the subsequent "loss of the computer data and source codes was fatal" to the plaintiff's business. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.