Sanchez v. Smart Fabricators of Texas: Navigating the Jones Act “Labyrinth”

Note by Caroline Silverstein

This note discusses the development of the Supreme Court’s approach to distinguishing land-based and sea-based employment, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s more streamlined approach to a question of seaman status, and the Fifth Circuit’s application of the Court’s standard. It also describes how the Fifth Circuit determined its precedent misapplied the Supreme Court’s case law, and it argues that the Fifth Circuit correctly noted that its case law misinterpreted Supreme Court precedent, but in shifting tact, it made the Jones Act less accessible for maritime workers.


About the Author

Caroline Silverstein, J.D. candidate 2023, Tulane University Law School, B.A. 2019, Occidental College.

Citation

96 Tul. L. Rev. Online 1 (2022)