Martinez

At the request of the Los Angeles Police Department, Mexican authorities arrested the plaintiff in this case, Jose Gonzalez Martinez, a Mexican national, in Mexico, for a murder committed in Los Angeles. Martinez was held for prosecution in Mexico pursuant to Article IV of the Mexican Federal Penal Code. 1 Martinez did not commit the murder. *1377 Nevertheless, he was held in a Mexican prison for fifty-nine days until he was released.

Martinez and his wife, Maria Pinto de Gonzalez, sued the City of Los Angeles (the “City”), and the Los Angeles Police Department and its officers (collectively “the LAPD”) for false imprisonment and other torts under California law. Martinez also sued for the alleged violation of asserted rights under the United States Constitution, and for arbitrary arrest and detention, a violation of the law of nations, under the Alien Tort Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1350 (1994). The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the City and the LAPD on all claims. Martinez and his wife appeal.

The district court had diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 . We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We reverse the district court’s summary judgment in…