{"argument_date":"2006-10-30T00:00:00Z","arguments":[{"argument_date":"2006-10-30T00:00:00Z","heading":"What happened at the argument","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2006","official_transcript_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","paragraphs":["Mr. Grant argued the lower court misinterpreted the Westfall Act.","He claimed this interpretation unfairly deprives tort plaintiffs of basic procedural protections.","Justice Souter noted the government stated the employee acted within job scope.","Justice Ginsburg emphasized the employee was on premises claiming authority."],"reargument":false,"sequence":1,"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-15","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-15"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 25-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 25-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 25-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 25-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 3-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 3-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 3-15","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 3-15"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 33-45","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 33-45"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 49-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 49-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 33-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 33-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 23-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 23-35"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 41-45","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 41-45"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 33-43","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 33-43"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 5-25","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 5-25"}]}],"caption":"Osborn v. Haley","case_history":[{"changed_at":"2026-08-29T20:06:28.197164Z","explanation":"An official oral-argument transcript was verified.","status":"argued"}],"case_status":"argued","dek":"A state tort plaintiff and a federal employee dispute whether the Westfall Act bars state court review of the employee's job-related conduct.","dek_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-23"}],"dispositions":[],"latest_court_document_date":"2006-10-30T00:00:00Z","maturity":"official_transcript","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2006","official_disposition_urls":[],"official_docket_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/05-593.html","primary_docket":"05-593","revisions":[{"correction_note":"Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.","created_at":"2026-08-31T21:53:31.544091Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":1},{"correction_note":"Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.","created_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":2}],"schema_version":"1.1","sections":[{"heading":"What this case is about","paragraphs":["The Westfall Act transfers federal employee tort cases to federal court. It grants immunity if the employee acted within their job scope. The dispute centers on whether state courts can review that scope claim before transfer."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-23"}]},{"heading":"How the case got here","paragraphs":["The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on October 30, 2006."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-15","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-15"}]},{"heading":"What each side wants","paragraphs":["the side that brought the case wants state courts to review the employee's scope-of-employment claim before transferring the case.","the opposing side wants federal courts to decide the immunity question first, blocking state court review."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-23"}]},{"heading":"What each side says","paragraphs":["the side that brought the case argues the lower court misread the Westfall Act, stripping plaintiffs of basic procedural protections.","the opposing side argues federal law controls the immunity threshold, requiring federal court jurisdiction before state law applies."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-23"}]},{"heading":"What the justices asked","paragraphs":["Justice Souter asked if the government's statement about job scope defines the immunity defense.","Justice Ginsburg asked why the claim is state law if federal immunity is the threshold issue."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 25-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 25-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 25-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 25-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 3-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 3-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 3-15","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 3-15"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 33-45","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 33-45"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 49-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 49-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 33-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 33-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 23-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 23-35"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 41-45","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 41-45"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 33-43","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 33-43"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 5-25","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 5-25"}]},{"heading":"Why it matters","paragraphs":["This case determines whether state courts can examine federal employee conduct claims. It affects access to state tort remedies for injured parties. It shapes the balance between federal immunity and state judicial power."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-23"}]},{"heading":"What happens next","paragraphs":["This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-15","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-15"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 25-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 25-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 25-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 25-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 3-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 3-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 3-15","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 3-15"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 33-45","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 33-45"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 49-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 49-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 33-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 33-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 23-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 23-35"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 41-45","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 41-45"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 33-43","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 33-43"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 5-25","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 5-25"}]}],"slug":"2006-05-593-osborn-v-haley","term":"2006","title":"Does a federal employee's claim of acting within job duties block state court tort claims?","title_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 22, lines 51-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 22, lines 51-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 17-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/pdfs/transcripts/2006/05-593.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 17-23"}],"topics":[],"undated_disposition_date_fallback":null,"updated_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z"}