Supreme Court upholds Iran payments for terrorism
Richard Wolf, USA TODAY
2:25 p.m. EDT April 20, 2016
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld actions
taken by Congress and President Obama that held Iran financially
responsible for acts of terrorism dating back to the 1983
bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in The 6-2 ruling by Justice The court determined that a law passed by Congress did not dictate to the courts how to handle the dispute, as the Iranian challengers had claimed. The justices also said the Constitution gives the president and Congress broad powers to conduct foreign policy. "Exercise by Congress and the president of control over claims against foreign governments, as well as foreign government-owned property in the United States, is hardly a novelty," Ginsburg said in summarizing her 24-page opinion from the bench. "No less than if it had passed a law saying 'respondents win,' Congress has decided this case by enacting a bespoke statute tailored to this case that resolves the parties' specific legal disputes to guarantee respondents victory," Roberts said. But Ginsburg cited instances in which courts have upheld laws passed by Congress that applied to a single bridge, oil tanker and memorial. She said the assumption that legislation must be applicable to a broad cross-section of society is "flawed." The case brought back to life the deadliest act of terrorism
against American citizens prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks —
the pre-dawn truck bombing of the Marine Corps barracks by The lengthy effort to collect damages from Iran
involved other terrorist attacks, including the 1996 bombing of
the Among those who waged a nearly 15-year legal battle for compensation were relatives of 173 of the 241 service members killed in the 1983 bombing, as well as the lucky few who survived. Another 68 families or representatives of Beirut victims won't share in the proceeds because they are not involved in the case. Some have initiated separate court actions, indicating the effort to get Iran to pay up will continue for years to come. The lead plaintiff was Deborah Peterson, whose brother, Lance Cpl. James Knipple, was killed in Beirut. She filed the wrongful-death case in 2001 — a month after the 9/11 attacks. In the years since the attack, Congress and President
Obama entered the battle in an effort to get Iran to pay up. In
doing so, Iran's But lawyers for 16 groups of victims, representing more than 1,000 claims for damages, argued that it's legal for Congress to pass laws affecting ongoing litigation. The Supreme Court, they said, has upheld laws aimed at court action concerning particular bridges and forests; on matters of foreign relations, the power is all the more important. "This is the power of the president and Congress, working
together," said |