Rosemary Weissich Jill Elaine Weissich v. United States of America

OVERVIEW

In their complaint filed in the district court, Rosemary Weissieh and her three children (“the Weissichs”) asserted two claims against the United States. First; they alleged that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (“ATF”) and the United States Probation Service (“USPS”) negligently failed to warn William Weissieh of an impending threat posed by Malcolm Schlette, a federal probationer. Second, they alleged that the USPS negligently supervised Schlette. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the government on both claims and dismissed the action. The Weissichs appeal. We affirm. We do so, however, on the ground that the discretionary function exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”) bars the Weis-sichs’ suit against the United States.

FACTS

In 1955, the Marin County District Attorney, William Weissieh, prosecuted Malcolm Schlette. Schlette was convicted of arson and sentenced to twenty years in prison. He threatened to retaliate by killing the district attorney, the judge, the jurors, all witnesses, and the police officers involved in his conviction. In 1966, Schlette was released on state parole. Authorities discovered that he planned…