Supreme Court Rules Ashcroft Cannot Be Held Responsible for Arrest and Detention of U.S. Citizen

WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–May 31, 2011.  The United States Supreme Court today allowed Attorney General John Ashcroft to escape liability for the wrongful arrest and detention of a U.S. Citizen under the material witness law, but four justices raised serious questions about using the statute to justify preventive detention in the future.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit against Ashcroft in 2005 on behalf of Abdullah al-Kidd, a U.S. citizen who was improperly arrested and detained in 2003 as…