Today, the Supreme Court decided Egbert v. Boule. Justice Thomas's majority opinion reversed the Ninth Circuit's decision, which approved Bivens claims under the First and Fourth Amendments. The Court applied something of a rational-basis test to determine whether a new Bivens cause of action should be implied.
The Bivens inquiry does not invite federal courts to independently assess the costs and benefits of implying a cause of action. A court faces only one question: whether there is any rational reason (even one) to think that Congress is better suited to "weigh the costs and benefits of allowing a damages action to proceed." Ziglar, 582 U. S., at ___ (slip op., at 12).
Here, the Court expands on Ziglar v. Abbasi. This 2018 decision split 4-2. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Gorsuch were recused. Still, Justice Kennedy's plurality opinion largely closed the door on Bivens claims. But now, Egbert, with six votes strong, slams that door shut. And Justice Gorsuch would shred the door in a wood chipper.
