Hernández v. Mesa

Decided February 25, 2020. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 17-1678 · 589 U.S. 93 (2020) · Cited 35 times

Holding

A cross-border shooting by a United States Border Patrol agent does not give rise to a damages claim pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U. S. 388.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko · 534 U.S. 61 (2001)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez · 494 U.S. 259 (1990)
• Carlson v. Green · 446 U.S. 14 (1980)
• Davis v. Passman · 442 U.S. 228 (1979)
• Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. · 569 U.S. 108 (2013)
• J. I. Case Co. v. Borak · 377 U.S. 426 (1964)
• Chappell v. Wallace · 462 U.S. 296 (1983)
• United States v. Stanley · 483 U.S. 669 (1987)
• Bush v. Lucas · 462 U.S. 367 (1983)
• Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain · 542 U.S. 692 (2004)
• Wilkie v. Robbins · 551 U.S. 537 (2007)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Federal Deposit Insurance v. Meyer · 510 U.S. 471 (1994)
• Schweiker v. Chilicky · 487 U.S. 412 (1988)
• Haig v. Agee · 453 U.S. 280 (1981)
• Medellin v. Texas · 552 U.S. 491 (2008)
• Wheeldin v. Wheeler · 373 U.S. 647 (1963)
• Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System v. Dimension Financial Corp. · 474 U.S. 361 (1986)
• Minneci v. Pollard · 565 U.S. 118 (2012)
• Ashcroft v. Iqbal · 556 U.S. 662 (2009)
• Mitchell v. Forsyth · 472 U.S. 511 (1985)
• Tennessee v. Garner · 471 U.S. 1 (1985)
• Christopher v. Harbury · 536 U.S. 403 (2002)
• Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores · 421 U.S. 723 (1975)
• Hartman v. Moore · 547 U.S. 250 (2006)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Mitchum v. Foster · 407 U.S. 225 (1972)
• Boumediene v. Bush · 553 U.S. 723 (2008)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

Explore from here

Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2020). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).