Litigation

High Court Weighs Whether Ashcroft Can be Sued

By Peter Hardin

The Supreme Court was asked Wednesday to allow former former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to be sued for allegedly misusing federal law to detain a terrorism suspect — who never was charged with a crime — on false pretenses.

The justices “appeared skeptical” of the lawsuit attempt, according to a Wall Street Journal article. Their “lack of engagement” at oral argument “probably signaled a victory for the government,” the New York Times reported.

The Obama administration is defending Ashcroft (photo at left), who served as attorney general under President George W. Bush between 2001 and 2005.

Abdullah al-Kidd (photo at right), a U.S. citizen, was locked up for 16 days in federal detention, strip-searched and shackled. He sued over what he alleged was the unconstitutional use of a law meant to hold ?material witnesses.? A district court judge and a panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that his lawsuit against Ashcroft and others could go forward (see Gavel Grab).

Kidd argues that he was held under an Ashcroft-approved plan to gather up Muslim men suspected by the government of terrorism ties, although it could not prove the links existed, according to a Washington Post article.

Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal told the court that Ashcroft has legal immunity from the lawsuit. “The prosecutor’s act of seeking the material witness warrant is integrally associated with the judicial process and entitled to absolute immunity,” he said.

Lawyer Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union maintained that Kidd should have his day in court to prove Ashcroft followed a policy of using wrongly the material witness law. It was designed to guarantee that witnesses are available for trial.

The case is a major one “stemming from the war on terrorism,” NPR reported in a lengthy article. A high court ruling “could shrink or expand federal powers to detain people in sensitive cases,” according to a McClatchy Newspapers report.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 03, 2011 (boomark / email).