Cert. Grant: Iraq v. Beaty; Iraq v. Simon

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States granted the petitions for writs of certiorari in Iraq v. Beaty (No. 07-1090) and Iraq v. Simon (No. 08-539). The opinions below, the petitions for certiorari, the briefs in opposition, the petitioners' replies, and the amicus brief of the United States in favor of the petition, are available here. The cases were consolidated, and the question before the Court will be: "Does Republic of Iraq possess sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States in cases involving alleged misdeeds of Saddam Hussein regime predicated on now-repealed state sponsor of terrorism subject matter exception to immunity of former 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(7)?"