Ashcroft v. Iqbal
Encyclopedia
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662
, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (2009), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that top government officials were not liable for the actions of their subordinates absent evidence that they ordered the allegedly discriminatory activity. At issue was whether current and former federal officials, including FBI Director Robert Mueller
and former United States Attorney General
John Ashcroft
, were entitled to qualified immunity
against an allegation that they knew of or condoned racial and religious discrimination
against individuals detained after of the September 11 attacks.
cable television installer from Hicksville, New York
, was arrested in New York in November 2001, on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and fraud in relation to identification documents (violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 1028) and placed in pretrial detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center
in Brooklyn, New York. He alleged that FBI officials carried out a discriminatory policy by designating him as a person "of high interest" in the investigation of the September 11 attacks solely because of his race, religion, or national origin. Owing to this designation he was placed in the detention center's Administrative Maximum Special Housing Unit for over six months while awaiting the fraud trial. Iqbal claimed that on the day he was transferred to the special unit, prison guards, without provocation, "picked him up and threw him against the wall, kicked him in the stomach, punched him in the face, and dragged him across the room." He said that after being attacked a second time he sought medical attention but was denied care for two weeks. According to Iqbal’s complaint, prison staff in the special unit subjected him to unjustified strip and body cavity searches, verbally berated him as a "terrorist" and "Muslim
killer," refused to give him adequate food, and intentionally turned on air conditioning
during the winter and heating during the summer, He claimed that prison staff interfered with his attempts to pray
and engage in religious study, and with his access to counsel. Mr. Iqbal pleaded guilty to using another man's Social Security card on April 22, 2002, served a prison term until his release on January 15, 2003, and was later deported to Pakistan.
After being released, Iqbal brought claims under implied causes of action established by Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents for violations of his First
, Fourth
, Fifth
, Sixth
, and Eighth Amendment
rights as well as various statutory claims, including Federal Tort Claims Act
claims against the United States seeking compensatory and punitive damages
. Iqbal argued that Mueller and Ashcroft personally condoned the decision to detain him as well as Arab immigrants.
The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Justice had previously investigated and confirmed accounts of abuse of September 11 detainees like Mr. Iqbal.
The federal government argued that Iqbal's legal filings were not specific enough in linking the government officials with a policy of detaining Arab immigrants and Muslims.
The District Court found that the facts alleged in Iqbal's complaint were sufficient. The district court also found that the OIG Report suggested that petitioners were personally involved in “creating or implementing” the policies that led to respondent’s confinement in the ADMAX SHU.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
affirmed the lower court and refused to dismiss the action, concluding that it was plausible enough to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.
The Supreme Court granted review, in part, to address “whether conclusory allegations that high-level government officials had knowledge of alleged wrongdoing by subordinate officials are sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss in an action brought under Bivens.”
, the Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit's decision (which held that the Plaintiff did plead sufficient facts). The Supreme Court held that Iqbal’s complaint failed to plead sufficient facts to state a claim for purposeful and unlawful discrimination. The court affirmed that the Second Circuit had subject-matter jurisdiction
to affirm the District Court’s order denying petitioners’ motion to dismiss.
The court found that according to precedent, Government officials could not be held liable for the unconstitutional conduct of their subordinates under a theory of respondeat superior
and that because vicarious liability
was inapplicable to Bivens and §1983 suits, a plaintiff must plead that each Government-official defendant, through the official's own individual actions, has violated the Constitution. To do so, the Court found,
The Court rejected Iqbal's argument that under a theory of "supervisory liability," Ashcroft and Mueller could be liable for "knowledge and acquiescence in their subordinates' use of discriminatory criteria to make classification decisions among detainees."
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
8(a)(2), a complaint must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” “[D]etailed factual allegations” are not required, Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), at 555, but the court did find that Rule 8 requires the non-moving party to show plausible factual allegations, accepted as true, to “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face,” id., at 570. A claim has facial plausibility when the pleaded factual content allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Id., at 556.
The Court held that Iqbal’s pleadings did not comply with Rule 8 under Twombly. The Court found that several of his allegations, that petitioners agreed to subject him to harsh conditions as a matter of policy, solely on account of discriminatory factors and for no legitimate penological interest, that Ashcroft was that policy's "principal architect", and that Mueller was "instrumental" in its adoption and execution, were conclusory and not entitled to be assumed true. The Court decided that given that the September 11 attacks were perpetrated by Arab Muslims
, it was not surprising that a legitimate policy directing law enforcement to arrest and detain individuals because of their suspected link to the attacks would produce a disparate, incidental impact on Arab Muslims, even though the policy's purpose was to target neither Arabs nor Muslims. Even if the complaint's well-pleaded facts gave rise to a plausible inference that Iqbal’s arrest was the result of unconstitutional discrimination, that inference alone did not entitle him to relief since his claims rested solely on their ostensible policy of holding detainees categorized as “of high interest,” but the complaint does not contain facts plausibly showing that their policy was based on discriminatory factors.
The Court rejected three of Iqbal’s arguments. First, the Court found that Iqbal's claim that Twombly should be limited to its antitrust context was not supported by that case or the Federal Rules. Second, the Court found that Rule 8's pleading requirements need not be relaxed based on the Second Circuit's instruction that the District Court in-camera discovery to preserve petitioners' qualified-immunity defense in anticipation of a summary judgment motion. Third, the Court found that Rule 9(b), which requires particularity when pleading "fraud or mistake" but allows "other conditions of a person’s mind [to] be alleged generally," did not require courts to credit a complaint's conclusory statements without reference to its factual context.
The Supreme Court concluded that the Second Circuit should decide in the first instance whether to remand to the District Court to allow Iqbal to seek leave to amend his deficient complaint.
Mr. Iqbal's claims against lower-level officials, including guards and supervisors at the detention center, are unaffected by the court's ruling.
, Justice Ginsburg
and Justice Breyer
, saying that despite the fact that Ashcroft and Mueller had conceded that an officer could be subject to Bivens liability as a supervisor on grounds other than respondeat superior
, "(t)he court apparently rejects this concession and ... does away with supervisory liability under Bivens. The majority then misapplies the pleading standard under Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), to conclude that the complaint fails to state a claim." Souter goes on to say that the main fallacy in the majority’s position is because they are looking at Iqbal's allegations in isolation and not as a unit. Furthermore, Iqbal is alleging that not only that Ashcroft and Mueller allowed the discrimination policy, but that they created it.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (2009), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that top government officials were not liable for the actions of their subordinates absent evidence that they ordered the allegedly discriminatory activity. At issue was whether current and former federal officials, including FBI Director Robert Mueller
Robert Mueller
Robert Swan Mueller III is the 6th and current Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation .-Early life:...
and former United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
, were entitled to qualified immunity
Qualified immunity
Qualified immunity is a doctrine in U.S. federal law that arises in cases brought against state officials under 42 U.S.C Section 1983 and against federal officials under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388 . Qualified immunity shields government officials from liability for the...
against an allegation that they knew of or condoned racial and religious discrimination
Religious discrimination
Religious discrimination is valuing or treating a person or group differently because of what they do or do not believe.A concept like that of 'religious discrimination' is necessary to take into account ambiguities of the term religious persecution. The infamous cases in which people have been...
against individuals detained after of the September 11 attacks.
Facts
Javad Iqbal, an Pakistani-AmericanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
cable television installer from Hicksville, New York
Hicksville, New York
Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 41,547 at the 2010 census...
, was arrested in New York in November 2001, on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and fraud in relation to identification documents (violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 1028) and placed in pretrial detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center
Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn
The Metropolitan Detention Center located at 80 29th Street near Gowanus Bay, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues on 29th Street, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York, is one of several MDCs operated by the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons....
in Brooklyn, New York. He alleged that FBI officials carried out a discriminatory policy by designating him as a person "of high interest" in the investigation of the September 11 attacks solely because of his race, religion, or national origin. Owing to this designation he was placed in the detention center's Administrative Maximum Special Housing Unit for over six months while awaiting the fraud trial. Iqbal claimed that on the day he was transferred to the special unit, prison guards, without provocation, "picked him up and threw him against the wall, kicked him in the stomach, punched him in the face, and dragged him across the room." He said that after being attacked a second time he sought medical attention but was denied care for two weeks. According to Iqbal’s complaint, prison staff in the special unit subjected him to unjustified strip and body cavity searches, verbally berated him as a "terrorist" and "Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
killer," refused to give him adequate food, and intentionally turned on air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
during the winter and heating during the summer, He claimed that prison staff interfered with his attempts to pray
Pray
Pray may refer to:* Prayer, an active effort to communicate with a deity or spiritIt may also refer to:-Places:Italy* Pray, Piedmont, a comune in the Province of BiellaUnited States* Pray, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community-People:...
and engage in religious study, and with his access to counsel. Mr. Iqbal pleaded guilty to using another man's Social Security card on April 22, 2002, served a prison term until his release on January 15, 2003, and was later deported to Pakistan.
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
, Fourth
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause...
, Fifth
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
, Sixth
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions...
, and Eighth Amendment
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual...
rights as well as various statutory claims, including Federal Tort Claims Act
Federal Tort Claims Act
The Federal Tort Claims Act or "FTCA", , is a statute enacted by the United States Congress in 1948. "Federal Tort Claims Act" was also previously the official short title passed by the Seventy-ninth Congress on August 2, 1946 as Title IV of the Legislative Reorganization Act, 60 Stat...
claims against the United States seeking compensatory and punitive damages
Punitive damages
Punitive damages or exemplary damages are damages intended to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit...
. Iqbal argued that Mueller and Ashcroft personally condoned the decision to detain him as well as Arab immigrants.
The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Justice had previously investigated and confirmed accounts of abuse of September 11 detainees like Mr. Iqbal.
The federal government argued that Iqbal's legal filings were not specific enough in linking the government officials with a policy of detaining Arab immigrants and Muslims.
The District Court found that the facts alleged in Iqbal's complaint were sufficient. The district court also found that the OIG Report suggested that petitioners were personally involved in “creating or implementing” the policies that led to respondent’s confinement in the ADMAX SHU.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
affirmed the lower court and refused to dismiss the action, concluding that it was plausible enough to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.
The Supreme Court granted review, in part, to address “whether conclusory allegations that high-level government officials had knowledge of alleged wrongdoing by subordinate officials are sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss in an action brought under Bivens.”
Decision by the U.S. Supreme Court
In a 5 to 4 decision delivered on May 18, 2009 by Justice KennedyAnthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
, the Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit's decision (which held that the Plaintiff did plead sufficient facts). The Supreme Court held that Iqbal’s complaint failed to plead sufficient facts to state a claim for purposeful and unlawful discrimination. The court affirmed that the Second Circuit had subject-matter jurisdiction
Subject-matter jurisdiction
Subject-matter jurisdiction is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority to hear bankruptcy cases....
to affirm the District Court’s order denying petitioners’ motion to dismiss.
The court found that according to precedent, Government officials could not be held liable for the unconstitutional conduct of their subordinates under a theory of respondeat superior
Respondeat superior
Respondeat superior is a legal doctrine which states that, in many circumstances, an employer is responsible for the actions of employees performed within the course of their employment...
and that because vicarious liability
Vicarious liability
Vicarious liability is a form of strict, secondary liability that arises under the common law doctrine of agency – respondeat superior – the responsibility of the superior for the acts of their subordinate, or, in a broader sense, the responsibility of any third party that had the "right, ability...
was inapplicable to Bivens and §1983 suits, a plaintiff must plead that each Government-official defendant, through the official's own individual actions, has violated the Constitution. To do so, the Court found,
"Where the claim is invidious discrimination in contravention of the First and Fifth Amendments, our decisions make clear that the plaintiff must plead and prove that the defendant acted with discriminatory purpose. Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. Hialeah, 508 U. S. 520, 540–541 (1993) (First Amendment); Washington v. DavisWashington v. DavisWashington v. Davis, , was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the application of the Due Process Clause. Two African Americans had applied for positions in the Washington, DC police department, and sued after being turned down...
, 426 U. S. 229, 240 (1976) (Fifth Amendment). Under extant precedent purposeful discrimination requires more than “intent as volition or intent as awareness of consequences.” Personnel Administrator of Mass. v. Feeney, 442 U. S. 256, 279 (1979). It instead involves a decisionmaker’s undertaking a course of action “‘because of,’ not merely ‘in spite of,’ [the action’s] adverse effects upon an identifiable group.” Ibid. It follows that, to state a claim based on a violation of a clearly established right, respondent must plead sufficient factual matter to show that petitioners adopted and implemented the detention policies at issue not for a neutral, investigative reason but for the purpose of discriminating on account of race, religion, or national origin."
The Court rejected Iqbal's argument that under a theory of "supervisory liability," Ashcroft and Mueller could be liable for "knowledge and acquiescence in their subordinates' use of discriminatory criteria to make classification decisions among detainees."
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act, and then the United States Congress has 7 months to veto the rules promulgated or they become part of the...
8(a)(2), a complaint must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” “[D]etailed factual allegations” are not required, Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, , was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States involving anti-trust law and civil procedure. Authored by Justice David Souter, it established that parallel conduct, absent evidence of agreement, is insufficient to sustain an anti-trust action under § 1...
, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), at 555, but the court did find that Rule 8 requires the non-moving party to show plausible factual allegations, accepted as true, to “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face,” id., at 570. A claim has facial plausibility when the pleaded factual content allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. Id., at 556.
The Court held that Iqbal’s pleadings did not comply with Rule 8 under Twombly. The Court found that several of his allegations, that petitioners agreed to subject him to harsh conditions as a matter of policy, solely on account of discriminatory factors and for no legitimate penological interest, that Ashcroft was that policy's "principal architect", and that Mueller was "instrumental" in its adoption and execution, were conclusory and not entitled to be assumed true. The Court decided that given that the September 11 attacks were perpetrated by Arab Muslims
Arab Muslims
Arab Muslims are adherents of the religion of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, or genealogically as Arabs. They greatly outnumber other ethnic groups in the Middle East. Muslims who are not Arabs are called mawali by Arab Muslims....
, it was not surprising that a legitimate policy directing law enforcement to arrest and detain individuals because of their suspected link to the attacks would produce a disparate, incidental impact on Arab Muslims, even though the policy's purpose was to target neither Arabs nor Muslims. Even if the complaint's well-pleaded facts gave rise to a plausible inference that Iqbal’s arrest was the result of unconstitutional discrimination, that inference alone did not entitle him to relief since his claims rested solely on their ostensible policy of holding detainees categorized as “of high interest,” but the complaint does not contain facts plausibly showing that their policy was based on discriminatory factors.
The Court rejected three of Iqbal’s arguments. First, the Court found that Iqbal's claim that Twombly should be limited to its antitrust context was not supported by that case or the Federal Rules. Second, the Court found that Rule 8's pleading requirements need not be relaxed based on the Second Circuit's instruction that the District Court in-camera discovery to preserve petitioners' qualified-immunity defense in anticipation of a summary judgment motion. Third, the Court found that Rule 9(b), which requires particularity when pleading "fraud or mistake" but allows "other conditions of a person’s mind [to] be alleged generally," did not require courts to credit a complaint's conclusory statements without reference to its factual context.
The Supreme Court concluded that the Second Circuit should decide in the first instance whether to remand to the District Court to allow Iqbal to seek leave to amend his deficient complaint.
Mr. Iqbal's claims against lower-level officials, including guards and supervisors at the detention center, are unaffected by the court's ruling.
Souter's dissent
Justice Souter wrote a dissent joined by Justice StevensJohn Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
, Justice Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
and Justice Breyer
Stephen Breyer
Stephen Gerald Breyer is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and known for his pragmatic approach to constitutional law, Breyer is generally associated with the more liberal side of the Court....
, saying that despite the fact that Ashcroft and Mueller had conceded that an officer could be subject to Bivens liability as a supervisor on grounds other than respondeat superior
Respondeat superior
Respondeat superior is a legal doctrine which states that, in many circumstances, an employer is responsible for the actions of employees performed within the course of their employment...
, "(t)he court apparently rejects this concession and ... does away with supervisory liability under Bivens. The majority then misapplies the pleading standard under Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, , was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States involving anti-trust law and civil procedure. Authored by Justice David Souter, it established that parallel conduct, absent evidence of agreement, is insufficient to sustain an anti-trust action under § 1...
, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), to conclude that the complaint fails to state a claim." Souter goes on to say that the main fallacy in the majority’s position is because they are looking at Iqbal's allegations in isolation and not as a unit. Furthermore, Iqbal is alleging that not only that Ashcroft and Mueller allowed the discrimination policy, but that they created it.
Breyer's dissent
Justice Breyer filed a separate dissent saying that neither the briefs nor the Court's opinion provided convincing grounds for finding that trial courts had inadequate means to prevent unwarranted interference with "the proper execution of the work of the government."See also
External links
- Text of the Decision
- Petitioners Ashcroft and Mueller's Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Respondent Iqbal's Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Respondents Rolince and Maxwell's Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court of Dennis Hasty as Respondent supporting Petitioners
- Reply Brief of Petitioners
- Text of the Oral Argument
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal (SCOTUSWiki)
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal: Different Spanks for Different Ranks? (JURIST)
- Throwing Out Mr. Iqbal’s Case (NYT)