Filed Date: July 10, 2012
Closed Date: 2015
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On July 10, 2012, a group of American Samoans and the Samoan Federation of America filed this lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court. They sued the U.S. Department of State under the Federal Declaratory Judgment Act of 1934. The plaintiffs, represented by the Constitutional Accountability Center, asked the court for both declaratory and injunctive relief. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that their classification as "non-citizen nationals" instead of U.S. citizens was forbidden by the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and asked that they be given full citizen rights.
The plaintiffs argued that American Samoa, as within the limits and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, should fall under the Citizenship Clause, i.e. all individuals born in the region should be granted full U.S. citizenship. As of 2015, American Samoans were classified as "non-citizen nationals," a designation which denied them the right to vote, the right to serve on a jury, and the ability to hold certain public sector positions.
On June 26, 2013, the Court (Judge Richard L. Leon) granted the defendants' motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that it failed to state a claim. 951 F. Supp. 2d 88 (D.D.C. 2013). The plaintiffs appealed this dismissal. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit considered their case but ultimately affirmed the Circuit Court decision and ruled in favor of the defendants on June 5, 2015.
The plaintiffs filed a motion for a rehearing en banc, but the motion was denied on October 2, 2015.
The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Allison Hight (10/10/2015)
Virginia Weeks (2/19/2018)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4211615/parties/tuaua-v-united-states-of-america/
Ala'ilima, Charles (American Samoa)
Abbuhl, Joshua Charles (District of Columbia)
Acosta, Lanny James (District of Columbia)
Adebonojo, Kenneth A. (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Caroline J. (District of Columbia)
Leon, Richard J. (District of Columbia)
Abbuhl, Joshua Charles (District of Columbia)
Acosta, Lanny James (District of Columbia)
Adebonojo, Kenneth A. (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Caroline J. (District of Columbia)
Aronson, Pamela Jane (District of Columbia)
Baer, Michael Hendry (District of Columbia)
Berman, Marcia (District of Columbia)
Berns, Matthew Joseph (District of Columbia)
Berry, Britney (District of Columbia)
Bickford, James O. (District of Columbia)
Black, Alesia N. (District of Columbia)
Borson, Joseph Evan (District of Columbia)
Borum, Marian L. (District of Columbia)
Bowen, Brigham John (District of Columbia)
Braswell, Marina Utgoff (District of Columbia)
Brown, Aimee Woodward (District of Columbia)
Buckingham, Stephen J. (District of Columbia)
Burch, Alan (District of Columbia)
Campbell, Rhonda Lisa (District of Columbia)
Carmichael, Andrew Evan (District of Columbia)
Cedrone, Gerard Justin (District of Columbia)
Cirino, Paul (District of Columbia)
Cohen, Jason Todd (District of Columbia)
Collins, Brian Matthew (District of Columbia)
Coyle, Garrett Joseph (District of Columbia)
Crowley, Megan Anne (District of Columbia)
Davis, Ethan Price (District of Columbia)
Donnelly, Kathryn Ann (District of Columbia)
D'Ottavio, Kari E. (District of Columbia)
Drezner, Michael Leon (District of Columbia)
Edney, Marsha Stelson (District of Columbia)
Elliott, Stephen McCoy (District of Columbia)
Feldon, Gary Daniel (District of Columbia)
Fields, Rhonda C. (District of Columbia)
Fishman, Dillon Ariel (District of Columbia)
Folio, Joseph Charles (District of Columbia)
Francis, Tricia Dianne (District of Columbia)
Freeny, Kyle Renee (District of Columbia)
Garg, Arjun (District of Columbia)
Gershengorn, Ian Heath (District of Columbia)
Go, Samuel P. (District of Columbia)
Goldsmith, Aaron S. (District of Columbia)
Gualtieri, David Scott (District of Columbia)
Hajek, Luther L. (District of Columbia)
Hardee, Norman Christopher (District of Columbia)
Hartmann, Steven H. (District of Columbia)
Heaps, Bailey Wilson (District of Columbia)
Heiman, Julia Alexandra (District of Columbia)
Hendry, Melanie Dyani (District of Columbia)
Hudak, Brian P. (District of Columbia)
Interrante, John G. (District of Columbia)
Jacobs, Gretchen E. (District of Columbia)
Kahn, Matthew Evan (District of Columbia)
Kelleher, Diane (District of Columbia)
Kelly, Wynne Patrick (District of Columbia)
Kishore, Deepthy (District of Columbia)
Kneedler, Jennie Leah (District of Columbia)
Kolsky, Joshua M. (District of Columbia)
Layton, Elisabeth (District of Columbia)
Lee, Jason (District of Columbia)
Levin, Scott Douglas (District of Columbia)
Littleton, Judson Owen (District of Columbia)
Lopez-Morales, Cesar A. (District of Columbia)
Lyons, Jane M. (District of Columbia)
McBarnette, Andrea (District of Columbia)
McBride, Patricia K. (District of Columbia)
Mei, Vesper (District of Columbia)
Modlinger, Alan Stuart (District of Columbia)
Moore, Tamra Tyree (District of Columbia)
Nath, Rohit Dwarka (District of Columbia)
Nebeker, William Mark (District of Columbia)
Needle, Jonathan S. (District of Columbia)
Nestler, Emily B. (District of Columbia)
Olson, Lisa Ann (District of Columbia)
Peterson, Benton Gregory (District of Columbia)
Pfaffenroth, Peter C. (District of Columbia)
Philpott, Romney Sharpe (District of Columbia)
Phipps, Peter J. (District of Columbia)
Piropato, Marissa Ann (District of Columbia)
Powell, Amy E. (District of Columbia)
Powers, James R. (District of Columbia)
Press, Joshua Samuel (District of Columbia)
Prince, Robert J. (District of Columbia)
Riess, Daniel (District of Columbia)
Risner, Scott (District of Columbia)
Robinson, Stuart Justin (District of Columbia)
Rogers, Joshua L. (District of Columbia)
Ross, Carl Ezekiel (District of Columbia)
Roth, Dena Michal (District of Columbia)
Schaefer, Daniel Patrick (District of Columbia)
Seabrook, April Denise (District of Columbia)
Shapiro, Elizabeth J. (District of Columbia)
Shoaibi, Alexander Daniel (District of Columbia)
Shy, Dionne S. (District of Columbia)
Simon, Jeremy S. (District of Columbia)
Simpson, W. Scott (District of Columbia)
Sims, Cara M. (District of Columbia)
Singer, Sam M. (District of Columbia)
Siple, Adam Christopher (District of Columbia)
Smith, Jeffrey Michael (District of Columbia)
Snell, Kevin Matthew (District of Columbia)
Soskin, Eric J. (District of Columbia)
Sowles, Marcia Kay (District of Columbia)
Sroka, Scott Leeson (District of Columbia)
Stevens, Elizabeth Joanne (District of Columbia)
Sus, Nikhel (District of Columbia)
Swain, Frank S. (District of Columbia)
Taaffe, Damon William (District of Columbia)
Taylor, Michael Steven (District of Columbia)
Theis, John Kenneth (District of Columbia)
Thurston, Robin Frances (District of Columbia)
Todd, James D. (District of Columbia)
Truong, John Cuong (District of Columbia)
Tyler, John Russell (District of Columbia)
Voltaire, Jean-Michel (District of Columbia)
Walker, Davene Dashawn (District of Columbia)
Walker, Johnny Hillary (District of Columbia)
Wechsler, Peter T. (District of Columbia)
Weinstein, Laurie J. (District of Columbia)
Weismann, Anne L. (District of Columbia)
Westmoreland, Rachael Lynn (District of Columbia)
Whitaker, Claire M. (District of Columbia)
Wolfe, Kristina Ann (District of Columbia)
Wolverton, Caroline Lewis (District of Columbia)
Yee, Marsha Wellknown (District of Columbia)
Young, Eric Joseph (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4211615/tuaua-v-united-states-of-america/
Last updated April 15, 2024, 3:02 a.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Public Benefits/Government Services
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: July 10, 2012
Closing Date: 2015
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Citizens of American Samoa
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
U.S. Department of State, Federal
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Discrimination-basis:
National origin discrimination
National Origin/Ethnicity: