Editorial: Finally, the Supreme Court can help a California family get back art stolen by Nazis
The magnificent Impressionist painting of a rainy Paris streetscape that hung on a wall in Lilly Cassirer's home in Germany in 1939 was the price she paid to a Nazi art dealer in exchange for exit papers from the country. It was nothing close to a fair transaction. She was a Jewish woman relinquishing valuable artwork in exchange for safe passage.
Eventually her descendants discovered that the Camille Pissarro painting that Cassirer had owned, 'Rue Saint-Honoré, Après-midi, Effet de Pluie,' was hanging on the wall of the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid.
Cassirer's family has spent two decades in and out of courts unsuccessfully trying to get the painting that all agree was stolen from her by the Nazis. It's a travesty that this family is still fighting for the return of this painting.
Now they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the legal saga. What makes this time different? A new California law, Assembly Bill 2867, which passed in August and was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September. The new statute requires courts to use California law when hearing cases filed by California residents or their families to recover stolen art or other significant artifacts held by museums.
The Supreme Court is finally in a position to course-correct the lower courts on this matter, and it should do so.
Until that bill passed, when a California plaintiff sued a foreign entity such as the Spanish museum to recover stolen artwork, the court would decide whether to use the law of the state or the law of the defendant's country. California law holds that a thief never has a legal right to stolen property, and whoever gets the property later never has a legal right to it either. But under Spanish law, after a certain amount of time passes, the holder of stolen property is legally allowed to keep it.
A federal district court hearing the Cassirer case used Spanish law and ruled that the Spanish museum could keep the painting. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — twice — ruled that the lower court was correct in deciding that the Spanish museum could keep the painting.
The Cassirer family is arguing that based on the new California statute, the 9th Circuit's decision is now 'irreconcilable with current California law.' The family is asking the Supreme Court to throw out that decision and return the case to the 9th Circuit, which in turn should follow the new statute, overturn the lower court's decision and finally order the painting returned to the family.
We hope that's exactly what happens. That outcome would be not only fair but also in keeping with broader norms: The Legislature specifically wrote the new law "to align California law with federal laws, policies, and international agreements, which prohibit pillage and seizure of works of art and cultural property, and call for restitution of seized property."
In the past even some jurists were anguished over their decisions. Judge Consuelo Callahan on the 9th Circuit concurred with the decision upholding the museum's right to the painting even as she said that appellate judges sometimes must 'concur in a result at odds with our moral compass. For me, this is such a situation.'
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, in his lower court ruling for the Spanish museum, lamented that he couldn't force the museum to 'comply with its moral commitments' as laid out in powerful but nonbinding international agreements (signed by dozens of countries, including Spain) that state there is a moral duty to return Nazi-looted art to its rightful owners or their heirs.
Now the California law opens the door for judges to make legal decisions that align with moral ones.
But the Spanish government, which owns the museum, doesn't have to wait for those decisions. It should do the right thing and return this painting to its rightful owners. That would be the swiftest way for long-awaited justice to be done.
If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
44 minutes ago
Los Angeles' image is scuffed since ICE raids and protests
LOS ANGELES -- This isn't the image Los Angeles wanted projected around the globe. Clouds of tear gas wafting over a throng of protesters on a blocked freeway. Federal immigration agents in tactical garb raiding businesses in search of immigrants without legal status. A messy war of words between President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photos captured several Waymo robotaxis set on fire and graffiti scrawled on a federal detention center building, while videos recorded the sounds of rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades hitting crowds. In a city still reeling from January's deadly wildfires — and with the World Cup soccer championships and the 2028 Olympics on the horizon — Mayor Karen Bass has been urging residents to come together to revitalize LA's image by sprucing up streets, planting trees and painting murals so LA shows its best face to nations near and far. 'It's about pride,' she's said. 'This is the city of dreams.' Instead, a less flattering side of Los Angeles has been broadcast to the world in recent days. Protests have mostly taken place in a small swath of downtown in the sprawling city of 4 million people. As Trump has activated nearly 5,000 troops to respond in the city, Bass has staunchly pushed back against his assertions that her city is overrun and in crisis. Bass, in response to Trump, said she was troubled by depictions that the city has been 'invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals, and that now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming our federal agents. I don't know if anybody has seen that happen, but I've not seen that happen.' The series of protests began Friday outside a federal detention center, where demonstrators demanded the release of more than 40 people arrested by federal immigration authorities. Immigration advocates say the people who were detained do not have criminal histories and are being denied their due process rights. Much like New York, Los Angeles is an international city that many immigrants call home. The city's official seal carries images referencing the region's time under Spanish and Mexican rule. Over 150 languages are spoken by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. About half of the city's residents are Latino and about one-third were born outside the U.S. Bass faulted the Trump administration for creating "a chaotic escalation' by mobilizing troops to quell protests. "This is the last thing that our city needs," Bass said. Los Angeles resident Adam Lerman, who has attended the protests, warned that protests would continue if the Trump administration pushes more raids in the city. 'We are talking about a new riot every day,' Lerman said. 'Everybody knows they are playing with fire." It's not the publicity LA needs as it looks to welcome the world for international sporting events on a grand scale. 'At this stage in the process, most host cities and countries would be putting the final touches on their mega-event red carpet, demonstrating to the world that they are ready to embrace visitors with open arms,' said Jules Boykoff, a Pacific University professor who has written widely on the political and economic impacts of the Olympic Games. The scenes of conflict are 'not exactly the best way to entice the world to plan their next tourist trip to the U.S. to watch a sports mega-event.' The federal raids and protests have created another dicey political moment for Bass, who has been struggling with a budget crisis while trying to recover from political fallout from the wildfires that ignited when she was out of the country. She's been careful not to discourage protests but at the same time has pleaded for residents to remain peaceful. The mayor will likely face backlash for involving the Los Angeles Police. And she needs to fight the perception that the city is unsafe and disorderly, an image fostered by Trump, who in social media posts has depicted Bass as incompetent and said the city has been 'invaded' by people who entered the U.S. illegally. Los Angeles is sprawling — roughly 470 square miles (750 square kilometers) — and the protests were mostly concentrated downtown. "The most important thing right now is that our city be peaceful," Bass said. 'I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the (Trump) administration.' On Monday, workers were clearing debris and broken glass from sidewalks and power-washing graffiti from buildings — among the structures vandalized was the one-time home of the Los Angeles Times across the street from City Hall. Downtown has yet to bounce back since long-running pandemic lockdowns, which reordered work life and left many office towers with high vacancy rates. Trump and California officials continued to spar online and off, faulting each other for the fallout. At the White House, Trump criticized California leaders by saying 'they were afraid of doing anything' and signaled he would support Newsom's arrest over his handling of the immigration protests. If Los Angeles' image was once defined by its balmy Mediterranean climate and the glamor of Hollywood, it's now known 'primarily for disaster,' said Claremont McKenna College political scientist Jack Pitney. 'A lot of perception depends on images," Pitney added. Right now, the dominant image "is a burning Waymo.'
2 hours ago
California labor leader charged with impeding officer during immigration crackdown
LOS ANGELES -- The arrest of a California labor leader has become a rallying cry for immigrant advocates across the country who called for his release and an end to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. David Huerta, the 58-year-old president of Service Employees International Union California, was arrested Friday while protesting outside a business where federal law enforcement agents were investigating suspected immigration violations, authorities said. He was released from federal custody Monday on a $50,000 bond after a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, union members and immigrant advocates led rallies in cities from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York to call for Huerta's release. In Boston, hundreds of people gathered in City Hall Plaza, with protesters shouting 'Free David, free them all.' Huerta, a long-time labor leader born and raised in Los Angeles County, has become the face of the pushback against Trump's effort to drive up immigration arrests. His case has also drawn attention to the longstanding ties between Democratic officials and the union that represents hundreds of thousands of janitors, security officers and other workers across California. After he was released, Huerta told reporters he did not intend to get arrested, and said the only way to win change is through nonviolence. 'This fight is ours, it's our community's, but it belongs to everyone,' Huerta said in Spanish. 'We all have to fight for them.' Protests broke out last week in Los Angeles in response to reports of immigration raids, and have escalated with thousands taking to the streets of the nation's second-largest city after Trump took the extraordinary move of deploying the National Guard. Over the weekend, demonstrators blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowd. Huerta was arrested while law enforcement officers were executing a federal search warrant at a Los Angeles business suspected of hiring illegal immigrants and falsifying employment papers, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wrote in a federal court filing. A crowd of people including Huerta gathered outside the business yelling at the officers. Huerta sat down in front of a vehicular gate and encouraged others to walk in circles to try to prevent law enforcement from going in or out, the agent wrote, adding it was clear 'he and the others had planned in advance of arrival to disrupt the operation.' A law enforcement officer approached Huerta and told him to leave, then put his hands on Huerta to move him out of the way of a vehicle, the agent wrote. Huerta pushed back and the officer pushed Huerta to the ground and arrested him, according to the filing. 'Let me be clear: I don't care who you are—if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted,' Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, said in a post on the social platform X. 'No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties.' Messages left for Huerta's attorney, Marilyn Bednarski, have not been returned. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and California's two Democratic senators wrote a letter to federal officials demanding answers regarding Huerta's arrest. California Sen. Adam Schiff attended Huerta's bond hearing. 'It is deeply troubling that a U.S. citizen, union leader, and upstanding member of the Los Angeles community continues to be detained by the federal government for exercising his rights to observe immigration enforcement,' the senators wrote. Huerta has worked for the SEIU for more than 25 years and was elected president of SEIU California, which has more than 750,000 members, in 2022. He was honored during the Obama administration for his efforts to build an immigrant integration program that included English classes for union members. Huerta was injured during Friday's arrest, the union said on its website. In a statement, the SEIU condemned the immigration raids and said its members will continue to demonstrate for workers' rights.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
113 House Democrats vote against GOP resolution denouncing the antisemitic terrorist attack in Colorado
More than 100 House Democrats voted against a Republican-led resolution condemning the antisemitic terrorist attack in Boulder and Colorado's sanctuary state laws on Monday. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.), cleared the lower chamber in a 280-113 vote, with 75 Democrats joining Republicans to pass the measure. Democrats fumed over language in the resolution expressing 'gratitude to law enforcement, including US Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, for protecting the homeland.' 3 House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks with reporters about the spending and tax bill embraced by President Donald Trump and Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, June 6, 2025. AP The National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP's campaign arm, charged that Democrats voting against the bill 'sided with terrorists over police officers and flat-out refused to condemn antisemitism.' 'Democrats have become the pro-terrorist, anti-cop, antisemitic caucus. And they're proud of it,' the NRCC wrote on X. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) slammed Evans as a 'joke' ahead of the vote. 'Who is this guy? He's not seriously concerned with combating antisemitism in America. This is not a serious effort,' Jeffries told reporters. 'Antisemitism is a scourge on America. It shouldn't be weaponized politically.' Evans shot back that the 'wildly offensive sentiment' expressed by Jeffries is 'why antisemitism persists.' 3 This image provided by the Boulder Police Dept. shows Mohamed Sabry Soliman. AP 'The Left is unserious about finding real solutions,' the congressman argued on X. 'Condemning terrorism is not a joking matter.' Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who is Jewish and voted no on the resolution, argued on the House floor that the measure was being put forward to simply 'score political points.' 'You weren't here, Mr. Evans, last term, but there were about 10 antisemitism resolutions that effectively said the same thing solely to score political points,' Goldman said. 'We Jews are sick and tired of being used as pawns.' 3 Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton, speaks to reporters during a news conference on the steps of the Colorado Capitol in Denver on Thursday, May 29, 2025. In his floor speech, Evans stated: 'As a former police officer and Army veteran of the Global War on Terror, I know how Colorado's radical leftists leaders and laws prioritize illegal immigrants over public safety — allowing antisemitic terrorists like Mohammed Sabry Soliman to strike.' Soliman, an Egyptian national who overstayed his visa, allegedly used Molotov cocktails and a makeshift flamethrower during the June 1 attack targeting peaceful marchers who were calling for the release of Hamas-held hostages in Gaza. Fifteen people were injured in the firebombing, during which Soliman allegedly shouted, 'Free Palestine.' 'The passing of my resolution ensures we condemn all acts of antisemitism and affirms that the free and open collaboration between state and local law enforcement with their federal counterparts is key in preventing future attacks like this,' the congressman continued. A separate resolution introduced by Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) and Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), who more generally denounced the uptick in antisemitic attacks in the US, passed in a 400-0 vote.
