Summary
The Supreme Court delivered a unanimous ruling on a case about "derivative sovereign immunity" for private contractors, but conservative justices had different opinions on the reasoning behind the decision. This shows a split among conservative justices despite their majority in the court.
Key Facts
- The Supreme Court case concerned if private companies with federal contracts can appeal lower courts' rulings on "derivative sovereign immunity".
- "Derivative sovereign immunity" can protect contractors from being held accountable when working for the government.
- The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority, but conservative justices sometimes disagree on case outcomes.
- Some conservative justices opposed a recent decision on President Donald Trump's tariff authority.
- Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett sided with liberal justices in a majority decision regarding tariffs.
- Liberal Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority opinion for the recent case about contractors, joined by some conservative justices.
- Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito partly agreed but also disagreed with parts of the majority's reasoning in the case.
- The legal debate involved whether certain legal defenses apply to contractors immediately or must wait for a final court decision.
