Mohamed Ali Samantar v. Bashe Abdi Yousuf et al.

Decided June 1, 2010. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 08-1555 · 560 U.S. 305 (2010) · Cited 452 times

Holding

The FSIA does not govern petitioner’s claim of immunity.

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 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

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.

• Verlinden B. v. v. Central Bank of Nigeria · 461 U.S. 480 (1983)
• Republic of Austria v. Altmann · 541 U.S. 677 (2004)
• Ex Parte Republic of Peru · 318 U.S. 578 (1943)
• Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Mortier · 501 U.S. 597 (1991)
• Dole Food Co. v. Patrickson · 538 U.S. 468 (2003)
• Republic of Mexico v. Hoffman · 324 U.S. 30 (1945)
• Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations v. City of New York · 551 U.S. 193 (2007)
• Kentucky v. Graham · 473 U.S. 159 (1985)
• Group of Institutional Investors v. Chicago, M., St. P. & P.R. Co., and 9 Other Cases · 318 U.S. 523 (1943)
• Compania Espanola De Navegacion Maritima, SA v. the Navemar · 303 U.S. 68 (1938)
• Kimbrough v. United States · 552 U.S. 85 (2007)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp. · 488 U.S. 428 (1989)
• Astoria Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Solimino · 501 U.S. 104 (1991)
• First National City Bank v. Banco Para El Comercio Exterior De Cuba · 462 U.S. 611 (1983)
• United States v. Fisher · 6 U.S. 358 (1805)
• United States v. Morton · 467 U.S. 822 (1984)
• Murray v. Schooner Charming Betsy · 6 U.S. 64 (1804)
• Underhill v. Hernandez · 168 U.S. 250 (1897)
• Isbrandtsen Co. v. Johnson · 343 U.S. 779 (1952)
• Republic of Philippines v. Pimentel · 553 U.S. 851 (2008)
• Russell Motor Car Co. v. United States · 261 U.S. 514 (1923)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States · 598 U.S. 264 (2023)
• Stokeling v. United States · 586 U.S. 73 (2019)
• Jam v. International Finance Corp. · 586 U.S. 199 (2019)
• CC/Devas (Mauritius) Ltd. v. Antrix Corp. · 605 U.S. 223 (2025)
• Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. · 568 U.S. 519 (2013)
• Hernández v. Mesa · 589 U.S. 93 (2020)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2010). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).