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2nd Circuit Tosses Extraordinary Rendition Suit Against Ashcroft

Posted Nov 3, 2009, 06:38 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A federal appeals court has ruled a Canadian engineer can’t sue former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other government officials for transferring him to Syria in 2002, where he claims he was tortured.

The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 7-4 en banc ruling that Maher Arar cannot sue absent legislation establishing damages for his type of case, according to the New York Times and the New York Law Journal. Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote the majority opinion.

“We decline to create, on our own, a new cause of action against officers and employees of the federal government,” Jacobs said. It is for the executive… Continue reading...



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