United States v. Montgomery Lebeau

Oral argument

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Source: CourtListener oral-argument corpus (CC0).

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• holding that Court’s statutory authority to issue writs constitutionally limited to writs in aid of appellate jurisdiction
• holding that FSIA does not apply to heads of state
• holding mandamus may be appropriate when “the delay and inconvenience of a prolonged litigation” hinders “action of the political arm of the Government taken within its appropriate sphere”
• stating principle of judicial deference to State Department determination of foreign sovereign’s entitlement to immunity, in case in which State Department had certified such entitlement
• relying on harm to the Executive, namely “embarrass[ing] the executive arm of the Government in conducting foreign relations,” to grant a mandamus petition to a foreign sovereign without requiring a separate government petition
• denying immunity and stating that foreign state’s silence weighs against immunity

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).