Josh Blackman » Posner: “The issue of corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute seems to have been left open in an enigmatic footnote in Sosa, (but since it’s a Supreme Court footnote, the parties haggle over its meaning, albeit to no avail).”

Posner: “The issue of corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute seems to have been left open in an enigmatic footnote in Sosa, (but since it’s a Supreme Court footnote, the parties haggle over its meaning, albeit to no avail).”

July 11th, 2011

This pithy quote from Judge Posner in an important 7th Circuit opinion on corporate liability and the Alien Tort Statute confirms what I’ve thought about Supreme Court footnotes–they are not meant to resolve issue, but simply leave an isuse open for the Supreme Court to address in future cases. Attempts to “haggle” over their meaning are often futile.

I can’t wait for the Supreme Court to clarify the dubious dicta in the Heller footnote.

H/T Andrew Grossman and How Appealing