Authors

Kristina Maalouf, Golden Gate University School of Law

Article Title

The Political Question Doctrine in the Ninth Circuit and Why It Should Not Have Barred the Adjudication of Corrie v. Caterpillar

Abstract

This Comment argues that the Ninth Circuit should not have affirmed the dismissal of Corrie v. Caterpillar. Although Rachel's death occurred in the context of the highly politicized Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the court's failure to find justiciable a cause of action between a U.S. citizen and a U.S. corporation was grounded on an undue application of the political question doctrine. The Ninth Circuit could have allowed the district court to adjudicate Rachel's family's claims under a narrow tort-liability framework without interfering with U.S. foreign policy. Rachel's family deserved the opportunity to litigate its case against Caterpillar, the company whose product foreseeably caused their daughter's death.

Recommended Citation

Kristina Maalouf, The Political Question Doctrine in the Ninth Circuit and Why It Should Not Have Barred the Adjudication of Corrie v. Caterpillar, 44 Golden Gate U. L. Rev. 35 (2014).
https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/ggulrev/vol44/iss1/7