On a 5-4 vote deciding both cases, the justices ruled that court deadlines for filing certain lawsuits can be extended if plaintiffs have good reasons for the delay. President Barack Obama's administration had asked the court to impose a strict deadline for such lawsuits under a law called the Federal Tort Claims Act.

The court's four liberals were joined in the majority by conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, who often casts the deciding vote in close cases.

One case involved Kwai Fun Wong, who was strip-searched while held in an Oregon immigration detention center in 1999. The issue in her case was whether she had waited too long before suing the government for monetary damages over her treatment.