Appeals court rules against Ashcroft in detention case
A federal appeals court has delivered a stinging rebuke to the Bush administration's detention policies after the September 11 terror attacks, ruling that former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be held liable for people who were wrongfully detained as material witnesses.
A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said yesterday that the government's improper use of material witnesses was "repugnant to the Constitution and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history."
The court found that a man who was detained as a witness in a federal terrorism case can sue Ashcroft for allegedly violating his constitutional rights. Abdullah al-Kidd, a US citizen and former University of Idaho student, filed the lawsuit against Ashcroft and other officials in 2005, claiming his civil rights were violated when he was detained as a material witness for two weeks in 2003.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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