Justice Thomas Criticizes Supreme Court for Rejecting Widow’s Military Death Case

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas expressed strong disagreement Monday with the court’s decision to decline review of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the widow of Air Force Staff Sergeant Cameron Beck. Beck was killed in 2021 when a civilian government employee, distracted by her cell phone, struck him while he was off duty and leaving a military base in Missouri on his motorcycle.

The widow sought to hold the government accountable for Beck’s death, but her claim was dismissed by a federal court and upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Both courts cited the 1950 Feres v. United States precedent, which bars servicemembers’ families from suing the government for wrongful death if the death occurred during military service.

Thomas criticized the courts’ broad application of the Feres doctrine in this case, noting that Beck was not performing any military duties at the time of the accident. “He was not ordered on a military mission to go home for lunch with his family,” Thomas wrote. He argued that Beck’s widow should have prevailed under the precedent if it were properly applied.

The justice called for the Supreme Court to grant certiorari to clarify the scope of Feres, which he described as a decades-old precedent that limits wrongful death lawsuits against the government. “We should have granted certiorari. Doing so would have provided clarity about [Feres v. United States] to lower courts that have long asked for it,” Thomas said.

Thomas further suggested that the court should consider overruling Feres altogether, stating that the precedent allows the government to evade responsibility in cases like Beck’s. He emphasized that if the court is unwilling to overturn the precedent, it should at least enforce it correctly.

The case highlights ongoing legal challenges faced by families of servicemembers who seek compensation for wrongful deaths caused by government employees or circumstances related to military service. The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case leaves the current interpretation of Feres intact, maintaining immunity for the government in such lawsuits.

The incident occurred when Beck was off duty and traveling to meet his wife and child for lunch. The civilian employee involved in the accident later admitted to causing the crash in a plea deal. Despite this, the government’s immunity under Feres prevented the widow’s claim from proceeding.

Justice Thomas’s dissent underscores a call for the Supreme Court to revisit and potentially revise the legal protections that shield the government from liability in wrongful death cases involving military personnel.