''Ziglar v. Abbasi'', 582 U.S. ___ (2017), is a
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case in which the Court determined, by a vote of 4-2, that non-U.S. citizens detained in the aftermath of the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
cannot recover monetary damages from high level federal officials for the conditions of their confinement. The case was consolidated with ''Hastey v. Abbasi'', and ''Ashcroft v. Abbasi''. It was argued on January 18, 2017.
The
class action
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
civil lawsuit was filed by the
Center for Constitutional Rights
The Center for Constitutional Rights[The Center for Constitutional Rights](_blank)
(CCR) is a Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...
,
FBI Director
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a United States' federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI Director is appointed for a single ...
Robert Mueller
Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013.
A graduate of Princeton University and New York ...
, former
INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to:
Places
* Ins, Switzerland, a municipality
* Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS)
* Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS
Biology
*'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies
* INS, the gene for the insul ...
Commissioner James Ziglar, and employees of the
Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, on the behalf of a number of Muslim, South Asian, and Arab non-citizens who, under the pretext of immigration violations, were held in detention for several months.
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Background
During the immediate
U.S. government response to the September 11 attacks, federal officials sought out and detained illegally present aliens, arresting 762 in all, 60% in the New York area.
Aliens "of high interest" to national security would not be deported but were instead "held until cleared" by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
.
[ 84 of these aliens were held by the MDC.
On April 17, 2002, plaintiffs sued in the , alleging that the ]United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
and MDC's behavior violated both the Equal Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...
and the substantive due process
Substantive due process is a principle in United States constitutional law that allows courts to establish and protect certain fundamental rights from government interference, even if only procedural protections are present or the rights are unen ...
clause, and that they had a right to sue under an implied cause of action
A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a p ...
created by '' Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents'' (1971).
The lawsuit charges that the Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003.
Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...
unlawfully held the plaintiffs several months after the completion of immigration cases brought against them to allow the FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
to investigate potential links to terrorism, an alleged violation of their First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights. The suit additionally alleges that the conditions of detainment of these prisoners, as well as the length of detainment, violated their rights, as prisoners were held in the Administrative Maximum Special Housing Unit (ADMAX SHU); deprived contact with their attorneys, families, and friends; prevented from the practice of their religions; and treated inhumanely in various ways, including being verbally and physically abused. David D. Cole
David D. Cole is the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Before joining the ACLU in July 2016, Cole was the Hon. George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy at the Georgetown University Law Center from ...
, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center
The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...
, is one of the attorneys on the case.[
] Plaintiffs' trial attorney from CCR was Rachel Meeropol, a granddaughter of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple were convicted of providing top-secret i ...
.
On June 14, 2006, U.S. District Judge John Gleeson refused to dismiss the plaintiffs’ substantive due process and equal protection claims. In February 2008, the case was reviewed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...
, including then-Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
.[
] On December 18, 2009, a two judge panel of the Second Circuit affirmed in an unsigned per curiam decision
In law, a ''per curiam'' decision (or opinion) is a ruling issued by an appellate court of multiple judges in which the decision rendered is made by the court (or at least, a majority of the court) acting collectively (and typically, though no ...
, with Sotomayor not participating due to her elevation to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Second Circuit remanded to Judge Gleeson for further consideration under the new pleading standards created by ''Ashcroft v. Iqbal
''Ashcroft v. Iqbal'', 556 U.S. 662 (2009), was a United States Supreme Court case which held that plaintiffs must present a "plausible" cause of action. Alongside ''Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly'' (and together known as Twiqbal), Iqbal raised th ...
'' (2009), a separate case regarding conditions at the MDC.
On November 3, 2009, the Center for Constitutional Rights announced that the six Metropolitan Detention Center plaintiffs had settled their claims against the United States for 1.26 million dollars.[
Plaintiffs eventually filed four amended complaints, incorporating by reference April and December 2003 reports investigating the abuses at MDC. On January 15, 2013, Judge Gleeson dismissed all claims against the federal DOJ defendants but denied the MDC defendants' motions to dismiss the constitutional conditions of confinement claims, the unreasonable strip search claim, and the conspiracy claim.
On June 17, 2015, the Second Circuit ruled that the case could proceed. Second Circuit Judges ]Rosemary S. Pooler
Rosemary S. Pooler (born June 21, 1938) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Early life
Pooler was born in New York City, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bro ...
and Richard Wesley
Richard Wesley (born July 11, 1945) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing.
Early life
Wesley w ...
affirmed Judge Gleeson with regard to the MDC defendants but reversed with regard to his dismissal of the claims against the DOJ defendants, over dissenting Judge Reena Raggi
Reena Andrea Raggi (born May 11, 1951 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and maintains her chambers in Brooklyn, New York. She was formerly a United Sta ...
's argument that the DOJ defendants were entitled to qualified immunity
In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statu ...
. On December 11, 2015, a judge's request for rehearing en banc
In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...
was denied by an equally divided circuit, with Judges Raggi, Dennis Jacobs
Dennis Jacobs (born February 28, 1944) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Education and career
Born and raised in New York City, Jacobs graduated from Forest Hills High School ...
, José A. Cabranes
José Alberto Cabranes (born December 22, 1940) is an American lawyer who serves as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a former presiding judge of the United States Foreign Intell ...
, Peter W. Hall, Debra Ann Livingston and Christopher F. Droney dissenting.
Supreme Court
On February 29 and April 1, 2016, Circuit Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
granted the Solicitor General of the United States
The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021.
The United States solicitor general represent ...
’s applications to extend the deadline to file a petition for a writ of certiorari
In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
. On October 11, 2016, the Supreme Court agreed to review the case, with Justices Sotomayor and Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan ...
recusing themselves. Commentators were not optimistic for the plaintiffs, noting that the Supreme Court had granted all eight of the government's most recent requests to review counterterrorism cases it had lost below, and that the plaintiffs had never then won.[ On January 18, 2017, one hour of oral argument was heard, where ]Ian Heath Gershengorn
Ian Heath Gershengorn (born February 21, 1967) is an American lawyer and former acting Solicitor General of the United States under President Barack Obama.
Early life and education
Born in New York, New York and raised outside of Boston, Gers ...
, the acting Solicitor General of the United States
The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021.
The United States solicitor general represent ...
, appeared for the federal petitioners, a private attorney appeared for the MDC Warden, and the CCR’s Meeropol appeared for the detainees.[
]
Opinion of the Court
On June 19, 2017, the Supreme Court delivered judgment in favor of the federal officials, reversing in part, vacating in part, and remanding by a vote of 4-2. Justice Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by Presid ...
, joined fully by Chief Justice John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nati ...
and Justice Samuel Alito
Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 31, 2005, and has served ...
, and partially by Justice Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...
, found that the implied cause of action
A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a p ...
created by '' Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents'' (1971) should not be extended to reach the federal officials' detention policy.[''The Supreme Court, 2016 Term — Leading Cases'']
131 Harv. L. Rev. 313 (2017).
The Court began by recounting the history of the ''Bivens'' remedy, noting that the Court has since only extended it twice, in 1979 for gender discrimination and in 1980 for cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisd ...
.[ Calling that era an "'']ancien regime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word fo ...
''", the Court explained that it is now more mindful of separation of powers
Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
by looking for clear legislative intent
In law, the legislative intent of the legislature in enacting legislation may sometimes be considered by the judiciary to interpret the law (see judicial interpretation). The judiciary may attempt to assess legislative intent where legislation ...
before allowing claimants to seek damages
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
.[
If a claim arises in a new context to ''Bivens'', then some special factor must be identified that makes the judiciary better suited than the legislature to decide that there is a new ]cause of action
A cause of action or right of action, in law, is a set of facts sufficient to justify suing to obtain money or property, or to justify the enforcement of a legal right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a p ...
.[ The Court first found that the claims regarding the federal government's detention policy were in a new context because they bore little resemblance to familiar ''Bivens'' claims.][ Next, the Court found that there was no special factor calling for judicial intervention, highlighting that the claimed damages regard national security decisions by high level Executive Branch officials in response to a terrorist attack, that there was Congressional silence in response, and that alternative relief was available to the detainees through an ]injunction
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
or the writ of habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
.[ As such, the detainees could not sue the federal officials.][
The Court next found that the claims of detainee abuse against MDC Warden Hasty were in a new context to ''Bivens'' because prior precedent regarded the prison abuse of convicted felons in violation of the Eighth Amendment, rather than the detainees’ claims under the Fifth Amendment.][ The majority remanded the claims against Warden Hastey to the lower court for it to analyze any special factors. Finally, the Court granted each defendant ]qualified immunity
In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statu ...
on the civil conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
claim, acknowledging without resolving the longstanding circuit split
In United States federal courts, a circuit split occurs when two or more different circuit courts of appeals provide conflicting rulings on the same legal issue. The existence of a circuit split is one of the factors that the Supreme Court of ...
regarding the impossibility of conspiring within a single government department.[
]
Justice Thomas's concurrence in part and concurrence in judgment
Thomas refused to join the paragraph in the opinion of the Court remanding the lawsuit against MDC Warden Hasty.[ Thomas also expressed concern about the precedents which establish the doctrine of ]qualified immunity
In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statu ...
, which he considered at odds with the common-law text of the statute and "substitute our own policy preferences for the mandates of Congress."
Justice Breyer's dissent
Justice Stephen Breyer
Stephen Gerald Breyer ( ; born August 15, 1938) is a retired American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and repl ...
, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
, respectfully dissented. Breyer disagreed strongly enough to read his dissent aloud from the bench at the opinion announcement.[
]
See also
*List of class action lawsuits
This page has a list of lawsuits brought as class actions.
Class action lawsuits
Lawsuits related to class action
{, class="wikitable sortable"
! Lawsuit !! Subject of lawsuit !! Court of decision !! Year of decision
, -
, ''AT&T Mobility v. C ...
References
External links
*
Case page
at SCOTUSblog
''SCOTUSblog'' is a law blog written by lawyers, law professors, and law students about the Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes abbreviated "SCOTUS"). Formerly sponsored by Bloomberg Law, the site tracks cases before the Court from t ...
Case page
at the University of Michigan Law School Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
The Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse is a website that serves as a searchable resource for information and documents relating to civil rights litigation. The Clearinghouse was founded by law professor Margo Schlanger in 2005, at Washington U ...
''Turkmen v. Ashcroft''
at the Center for Constitutional Rights website
{{USGWOTlaw
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court
Implied cause of action case law
Counterterrorism in the United States
Class action lawsuits
Legal issues related to the September 11 attacks