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The high court upheld an appeals court decision that victim's families cannot pursue lawsuits since the Saudis are protected by sovereign immunity, which prevents foreign countries from being sued in U.S. courts.

Nearly 6,000 plaintiffs had planned to sue, claiming money from Saudi Arabia and four of its princes ended up in the hands of al-Qaida members.

A lawyer for some of the families says they are angry at the decision, but that their fight is not over.

"We still have a number of cases pending before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York involving a number of banks, charities, and others still affiliated with the Saudis," said attorney Jerry Goldman. "It didn't make the evidence go away, it just took the Saudis off the hook."

Meanwhile, in another decision, the court ruled white firefighters in New Haven, Conn. were unfairly denied promotions due to their race.

In a 5-4 decision, the court said the city was wrong when it threw out results of a promotion exam because the results only allowed a few minorities to rank as lieutenants or captains.

The city argued it discarded results to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.

The ruling is of particular note because it reverses an Appeals Court decision made by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

The White House says the decision proves Sotomayor follows judicial precedent and is not an activist judge, like some Republicans have charged.

If confirmed, Sotomayor would replace outgoing Justice David Souter on the bench.