Episode 28

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Published on:

1st Jul 2025

FBI Wrong-House Raid—Supreme Court Checks Federal Immunity in Martin v. United States

In this episode of Unwritten Law, NCLA’s Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione are joined by litigation counsel Casey Norman to discuss the Supreme Court ruling in Martin v. United States. The case arose from a terrifying FBI wrong-house raid that left an innocent family traumatized and with few options for redress. Casey explains how the Court clarified the scope of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), rejecting the Eleventh Circuit’s expansive interpretation of federal immunity. They discuss how this decision strengthens property rights, limits governmental power, and restores accountability when federal agents violate citizens' liberties.

Key topics include the discretionary-function exception, the intentional-tort proviso, qualified immunity, and the critical role the FTCA plays in checking executive branch abuses.

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About the Podcast

Unwritten Law
NCLA Podcast About Administrative Law
Unwritten Law is a podcast hosted by Mark Chenoweth and John Vecchione, brought to you by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA). This show dives deep into the world of unlawful administrative power, exposing how bureaucrats operate outside the bounds of written law through informal guidance, regulatory “dark matter,” and unconstitutional agency overreach.

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New Civil Liberties Alliance

For over a century, unlawful administrative power has gradually displaced the Constitution’s avenues for lawmaking and justice. Although we still enjoy the shell of our Republic, there has developed within it a very different sort of government—a type, in fact, that the Constitution was designed to prevent. The unconstitutional Administrative State is the focus of NCLA’s concern.