UC Irvine law students help lead Supreme Court case on corporate liability for torture

UC Irvine School of Law students are helping lead a U.S. Supreme Court case set for April 28 that could determine whether American corporations can be civilly liable for aiding foreign governments in torture, placing the school's Defending Democracy Clinic at the center of a major dispute over federal human rights statutes.

Students in the clinic work on a litigation team preparing for oral argument in a case raising two issues: whether aiding and abetting an international crime is actionable under the Alien Tort Statute, and whether the Torture Victim Protection Act allows civil claims against those who facilitate torture and extrajudicial killing--issues every federal appeals court to consider has resolved for plaintiffs. Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe I, et al., No. 24-856 (U.S.).

Defending Democracy Clinic Director Paul Hoffman, a partner at Schonbrun DeSimone Seplow Harris & Hoffman LLP, is counsel of record for the respondents.

"The students in the Defending Democracy Clinic have provided invaluable assistance on this case since the Court accepted the case in January and they are continuing to do so in preparation for the April 28th argument," Hoffman said. "They have been an integral part of the litigation team."

The case alleges Cisco Systems Inc. designed and maintained surveillance technology for China's "Golden Shield" project, used to identify and track Falun Gong practitioners. The respondents -- Chinese nationals and a U.S. citizen -- claim they were arrested and tortured after the system captured their online religious activity.

Clinic students conducted legal research, helped draft arguments, and have helped to prepare oral arguments. Under Hoffman's supervision, they contributed to the March 20 merits brief and are continuing to prepare. Several plan to travel to Washington, D.C., for the April 28 hearing.

The respondents' brief claims Cisco engineers in San Jose designed custom surveillance tools to help the Chinese Communist Party crack down on Falun Gong, and that Cisco executives knew the technology would be used to detain and torture practitioners. It also argues the case is consistent with longstanding, bipartisan U.S. policy condemning China's persecution of Falun Gong.

The Defending Democracy Clinic focuses on civil rights litigation under federal and California law, including constitutional claims and related state statutes, with students handling hearings, depositions, and other litigation under faculty supervision.