Government immunity for wrongful death of military personnel

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has issued its decision in Siddiqui v. United States, No. 18-2415. The very first paragraph at least begins to tell the tale (the underlying facts of which many readers will recall):

This case resulted from the tragic death of Raheel Siddiqui, a private in the United States Marine Corps who fell to his death during basic training. His parents, Ghazala and Masood Siddiqui, sued the United States under the Federal Torts Claims Act (FTCA), alleging that the Government negligently misled Private Siddiqui into enlisting, assigned him to the command of officers already under investigation for abusing another Muslim recruit, failed to protect him from discriminatory abuse that led to his death, and failed to investigate fully the circumstances of his death. Because the doctrine announced in Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135 (1950), bars suits for tort claims arising from injuries incident to military service, we are bound to AFFIRM the district court’s dismissal of the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

The unanimous opinion, which is not even recommended for publication, is short. Read the whole thing. Unless the Supreme Court, with two new Justices, is willing to revisit Feres, Congress has to step in.