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Case Name
Ali v. Rumsfeld
NS-DC-0004
Docket / Court
05-cv-01378 ( D.D.C. )
Additional Docket(s)
05-cv-1377 [ 05-1377 ]
05-cv-1379 [ 05-1379 ]
05-cv-1380 [ 05-1380 ]
State/Territory
District of Columbia
Case Type(s)
National Security
Attorney Organization
ACLU Affiliates (any)
Case Summary
In 2005, plaintiffs, four Afghan and five Iraqi citizens who were incarcerated in U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively, filed suit against the U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and three high-ranking U.S. Army officers, alleging violations of the Fifth Amendment ...
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In 2005, plaintiffs, four Afghan and five Iraqi citizens who were incarcerated in U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively, filed suit against the U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and three high-ranking U.S. Army officers, alleging violations of the Fifth Amendment due process clause, Fifth and Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, the law of nations prohibitions against torture and against cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), 28 U.S.C. § 1350, and the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions, 6 U.S.T. 3316 and 6 U.S.T. 3516. Plaintiffs alleged they were subject to torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading detention while in U.S. military custody, including beatings, sexual assault, deprivation of food and medical care, and mock executions.
The plaintiffs originally filed separate actions in United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, the Northern District of Illinois, the District of South Carolina, and the Southern District of Texas. The multidistrict litigation was consolidated in United States District Court for the District of Columbia, pursuant to an order dated June 17, 2005 under 28 U.S.C. § 1407, and an amended consolidated complaint was filed in January 2006. The American Civil Liberties Union represented the plaintiffs.
In March 2006, each of the four defendants moved to dismiss the case. After extensive briefing and oral arguments, the district court dismissed the case against all defendants in March 2007 on the grounds that defendants were entitled to qualified immunity as to several counts of the complaint, and absolute immunity as to the law of nations and Geneva Conventions complaints, pursuant to the Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act of 1988 (the Westfall Act), 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671, 2674, 2679. In re Iraq and Afghanistan Detainees Litigation, 479 F. Supp. 2d 85 (D.D.C. 2007). The district court declined plaintiffs' suggestion to infer causes of action for tort liability pursuant to Bivens.
The plaintiffs appealed on May 24, 2007 to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The D.C. Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment of dismissal. Ali v. Rumsfeld, 649 F.3d 762 (D.C. Cir. 2011), rehearing en banc denied, (Sept. 19, 2011).
Elizabeth Homan - 11/11/2013
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
Constitutional Clause
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Due Process
Defendant-type
Jurisdiction-wide
General
Access to lawyers or judicial system
Conditions of confinement
Confinement/isolation
Courts
Excessive force
False arrest
International law
Over/Unlawful Detention
Placement in detention facilities
Restraints : chemical
Restraints : physical
Terrorism/Post 9-11 issues
Unconstitutional conditions of confinement
Plaintiff Type
Private Plaintiff
Type of Facility
Government-run
Causes of Action
Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), 28 U.S.C. § 1350
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
Department of Defense
Plaintiff Description
Plaintiffs are four Afghan and five Iraqi citizens who were incarcerated in U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively.
Indexed Lawyer Organizations
ACLU Affiliates (any)
Class action status sought
No
Class action status granted
No
Filed Pro Se
No
Prevailing Party
Defendant
Public Int. Lawyer
Yes
Nature of Relief
None
Source of Relief
None
Filed
07/08/2005
Case Closing Year
2007
Case Ongoing
No
Additional Resources
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Documents
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Court
Docket(s)
D.D.C.
10/03/2011
1:05-cv-01378-TFH
NS-DC-0004-9000.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
General Documents
N.D. Ill.
Complaint for Declaratory Relief and Damages
NS-DC-0004-0008.pdf
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Detail
D. Conn.
03/01/2005
Complaint [ECF# 1]
NS-DC-0004-0006.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
D.D.C.
01/05/2006
Consolidated Amended Complaint for Declaratory Relief and Damages [ECF# 6]
NS-DC-0004-0003.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
D.D.C.
03/27/2007
Memorandum Opinion [ECF# 18]
(479 F.Supp.2d 85)
NS-DC-0004-0002.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: Google Scholar
D.D.C.
03/27/2007
Order [ECF# 4819]
NS-DC-0004-0005.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
U.S. Court of Appeals
06/21/2011
Order (Affirming District Court's Judgment of Dismissal)
(649 F.3d 762)
NS-DC-0004-0001.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: ACLU
People
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Judges
Edwards, Harry Thomas
(D.C. Circuit)
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NS-DC-0004-0001
Henderson, Karen LeCraft
(D.S.C., D.C. Circuit)
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NS-DC-0004-0001
Hogan, Thomas Francis
(FISC, D.D.C.)
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NS-DC-0004-0002 | NS-DC-0004-0005 | NS-DC-0004-9000
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Chemerinsky, Erwin
(North Carolina)
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NS-DC-0004-0006
Guttentag, Lucas
(California)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-0006
Hoffman, Paul L.
(California)
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NS-DC-0004-0006
Hutson, John D.
(New Hampshire)
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NS-DC-0004-0003
Jadwat, Omar C.
(New York)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-0006
Keitner, Chimene I
(California)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-0006
Lamoreaux, Annette M.
(Connecticut)
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NS-DC-0004-0006
Lee, Bill Lann
(California)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-0006
Patel, Priti N.
(New York)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-9000
Pearlstein, Deborah N.
(California)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-9000
Posner, Michael H.
(New York)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-9000
Rudovsky, David
(Pennsylvania)
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NS-DC-0004-0006
Sekhon, Nirej S.
(California)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-0006
Shamsi, Hina
(New York)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-9000
Shapiro, Steven R.
(New York)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-0006
Singh, Amrit
(New York)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-0006
Spitzer, Arthur
(District of Columbia)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-9000
Wang, Cecillia D
(California)
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NS-DC-0004-0003 | NS-DC-0004-0006
Watt, Steven M.
(New York)
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NS-DC-0004-0003
Defendant's Lawyers
Meeks, J Marcus
(District of Columbia)
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NS-DC-0004-9000
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