http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0112scotus-spies12.htmlWASHINGTON - The Supreme Court considered Tuesday whether shadowy spy deals should ever end up in federal court, hearing the case of former Soviet-bloc spies who claim the CIA reneged on a pledge of lifetime support.
At issue is a 130-year-old Supreme Court ruling that said former spies may not sue the government because of the secret nature of their pacts, which are made with the understanding that "the lips of the other were to be forever sealed."
Most justices appeared reluctant to allow the couple's lawsuit against the CIA. They noted that not only spies but government officials accept that they might be backstabbed when making clandestine deals.
more
Could Cold War spies sue the CIA?
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5461128
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An attorney for two former Cold War-era spies has told the U.S.
Supreme Court the husband and wife should be allowed to seek lifetime pay from the CIA, but the
government has contended that spies have no such legal rights.
The couple are former citizens of a Soviet-bloc nation, identified by the pseudonyms John and
Jane Doe. Their lawyer, David Burman, argued on Tuesday that they have a right to make their
claim for pay in the courts, a view held by two lower-court rulings that their lawsuit against the CIA
could proceed.
A government lawyer replied that their case must be dismissed, based on an 1875 Supreme
Court ruling that he said bars any lawsuits over the failure to pay money promised for spying.
"When you enter into an espionage relationship, you recognize you have no protection under
the law," Acting Solicitor General Paul Clement said.
Since the days of Nathan Hale, who spied during the Revolutionary War and was executed by
the British, spies have had no any legal recourse, he said. He called the spy relationship "a
contract the law doesn't recognize."
more
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
