A Thriving Atrocities Practice

After following up on Justice Alito's summer interview, the new birthright-citizenship executive orders, and the Court's record-low approval numbers, we devote the episode to Cisco Systems v. Doe (scotusblog.com/cases/cisco-systems-inc-v-doe-i), the Falun Gong surveillance case that closes the door Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain (supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/542/692) left open for new Alien Tort Statute claims. We try to build a theory of the ATS from first principles — Section 9 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the law of nations, and the Marbois affair — before running through two decades of the Court narrowing the statute. Then we ask what to make of "door closing" as a phenomenon, from Edwards v. Vannoy (supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/593/19-5807) to Rucho, and whether the Court would really be stuck if the perfect ATS unicorn finally showed up. Along the way: whether Justice Alito is an I-95 or an Amtrak guy, the seven-case October calendar led by Suncor (scotusblog.com/cases/suncor-energy-inc-v-count…), Rooker anti-Feldmanism, and a Phoenix bar band called the Blackstone Three.
Highlights
• [00:00:21] Opening: 29 episodes makes a record-breaking season, and the secret to sub-4-hour recording sessions

• [00:02:28] Justice Alito's WSJ interview with James Taranto: "Obviously I'm here for another term," the vultures, and his high school English teacher's psychoanalysis

• [00:06:27] How Will became a libertarian: Mr. Flannery, Lexis news alerts for "Ayn Rand," and golfer David Duval

• [00:09:48] Still no action on the mail-in voting applications; a White House ballroom emergency application expected any day

• [00:11:15] No rehearing petition in Trump v. Barbara — instead, new executive orders probing the decision's edges

• [00:15:32] The October calendar: only 7 cases, starting with Suncor — "conservative intuitions in search of a constitutional clause"

• [00:17:04] Mailbag: Rooker anti-Feldmanism via Lance v. Dennis, and Michael Rosman on whether sex-segregated sports are really "equal opportunity"

• [00:20:32] Gallup has the Court at 33% approval, a record low — the maximally anti-legitimacy strategy

• [00:22:35] The main event: Cisco Systems v. Doe — an anonymous person versus a faceless corporation

• [00:23:16] ATS first principles: Section 9 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the law of nations as brooding omnipresence, and the Marbois affair

• [00:37:27] The 1980 revival, Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, and the door Justice Souter left ajar

• [00:42:45] Two decades of narrowing: Kiobel, Jesner, Nestlé — and Will's brush with a thriving atrocities practice

• [00:47:33] Cisco closes the door; the Edwards v. Vannoy parallel, and whether door closing is ever dicta

• [00:52:33] Door closing as a genre: Vieth v. Jubelirer, Rucho — a Green Bag piece for Richard Re

• [00:56:36] What about pirates? The Blackstone 3 — the doctrine, and the Phoenix bar band

• [01:00:18] Implied causes of action, the slow death of Bivens, and the Ex parte Young irony after Trump v. Cook

• [01:05:19] Scoring the opinion: a win for the Bradley–Goldsmith "Erie algorithm" — or selective originalism?

• [01:13:33] Sign-off: rate and review — and if we go quiet, Will has been taken by pirates

Relevant links
Cases
• Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe I (scotusblog.com/cases/cisco-systems-inc-v-doe-i) — slip opinion (supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-856_kjfm.pdf)

• Trump v. Barbara (scotusblog.com/cases/trump-v-barbara) — the birthright-citizenship decision the new executive orders are testing

• Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County (scotusblog.com/cases/suncor-energy-inc-v-count…) — the OT26 opener

• Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 U.S. 692 (2004) (supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/542/692)

• Edwards v. Vannoy, 593 U.S. 255 (2021) (supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/593/19-5807) — slip opinion (supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-5807_086c.pdf)

• Lance v. Dennis, 546 U.S. 459 (2006) (per curiam) (supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/546/05-555…) — the Stevens "Rooker good, Feldman bad" dissent

Commentary & articles
• CNN on the Alito interview (cnn.com/2026/08/07/politics/justice-samuel-ali…) — coverage of James Taranto's Wall Street Journal interview

• Gallup, "Supreme Court Job Approval Slumps to Record Low" (news.gallup.com/poll/713096/supreme-court-job-…)

• Jonathan Adler, "Amicus Brief in Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County" (reason.com/volokh/2026/08/03/amicus-brief-in-s…) — the solo plaintiffs-side amicus

• Oona A. Hathaway et al., "Has the Alien Tort Statute Made a Difference?," 107 Cornell L. Rev. (2022) (publications.lawschool.cornell.edu/lawreview/2…) — the settlements study cited in Cisco footnote 2

• Carlos M. Vázquez & Stephen I. Vladeck, "State Law, the Westfall Act, and the Nature of the Bivens Question," 161 U. Pa. L. Rev. 509 (2013) (scholarship.law.upenn.edu/penn_law_review/vol1…)

• Samuel L. Bray & Paul B. Miller, "Getting Into Equity," 97 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1763 (2022) (ndlawreview.org/getting-into-equity) — why equity never needed causes of action

Other
• Divided Argument, "Separation-of-Powers Police" (S4E23) (dividedargument.com/episode/separation-of-powe…) — the Daryl Levinson Law for Leviathan book episode

• The Blackstone Three (theblackstonethree.com) — original and cover music for all events, parties, and concert venues