U.S. Supreme Court bars lawsuit over cross-border shooting of Mexican teen

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to open the door for foreign nationals to pursue civil rights cases in American courts, declining to revive a lawsuit by a slain Mexican teenager's family against the U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot him on Mexican soil from across the border in Texas.

The court ruled 5-4 to uphold a lower court's dismissal of the lawsuit against the agent, Jesus Mesa, who shot 15-year-old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca in the face in the 2010 incident. The family sued in federal court seeking monetary damages, accusing Mesa of violating the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment ban on unjustified deadly force and the Fifth Amendment right to due process. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)