Reversing a lower court, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that former Attorney General John Ashcroft can’t be sued in connection with the arrest of an American Muslim who was suspected to have played a role in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The high court said in a 5-3 decision that Ashcroft did not violate the constitutional rights of Abdullah al-Kidd, who was arrested in 2003 at Dulles International Airport and released two weeks later without being charged. He was arrested under a federal law intended to compel reluctant witnesses to testify before grand juries and at criminal trials.
The justices disagreed about whether Ashcroft violated al-Kidd’s constitutional rights, but all agreed that Ashcroft could not be personally sued for the arrest since he was carrying out his job as a top federal official.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in September 2009 that the suit against Ashcroft could go forward, denying the former Bush administration official’s request for immunity.
Also in 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that Ashcroft could not be sued in connection with the arrests of Muslim men from the Middle East in the days after Sept. 11. That ruling did not effect other cases including al-Kidd’s because the court’s ruling was primarily about discrimination.
Earlier this month, Ashcroft joined Xe, the military contractor formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, as an independent ethics adviser.
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