Esther Hui, et al. v. Yanira Castaneda, As Personal Representative of the Estate of Francisco Castaneda, et al. (559 U.S. 799)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 3, 2010 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 559 U.S. 799 · 130 S. Ct. 1845
- Decided
- May 3, 2010
- Term
- October Term 2009
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Sotomayor
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court. This case presents the question whether 42 U. S. C. § 233(a), as added, 84 Stat. 1870, precludes an action under Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U. S. 388 (1971), against U. S. Public Health Service (PHS) personnel for constitutional violations arising out of their official duties. When federal employees are sued for damages for harms caused in the course of their employment, the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U. S. C. §§ 1346, 2671-2680, generally authorizes substitution of the United States as the defendant. Section 233(a) makes the FTCA remedy against the United States “exclusive of any other civil action or proceeding” for any personal injury caused by a PHS officer or employee performing a medical or related function “while acting within the scope of his office or employment.” Based on the plain language of § 233(a), we conclude that PHS officers and employees are not personally subject to Bivens actions for harms arising out of such conduct. I Francisco Castaneda was detained by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the San Diego Correctional Facility (SDCF) beginning in March 2006. According to the complaint later filed in the District Court, when Castaneda arrived at SDCF he had on his penis an irregular, raised lesion that measured roughly two centimeters square. Castaneda…
Excerpt of a 23,025-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.