(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/16/2023) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, with support from pro bono counsel Todd Gregorian and Garner Kropp of Fenwick & West LLP, filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief earlier this week in support of a petition for rehearing en banc in the Ninth Circuit in Mejia v. Miller.
Petitioner is asking the Ninth Circuit to reconsider a three-judge panel’s holding that Bivens claims—claims against federal officers for violating people’s constitutional rights—can be brought only “in the most unusual circumstances,” and even then only in ways that have been previously delineated by the Supreme Court. If the panel’s decision is allowed to stand, Bivens claims will cease to meaningfully exist in the Ninth Circuit.
SEE: AMICUS BRIEF
CAIR’s amicus brief warns that the thousands of innocent American Muslims on the illegal, unconstitutional, and Islamophobic watchlist are routinely subjected to extraordinarily dangerous and harmful encounters with federal officers, particularly at the border. The possibility that those officers may face civil liability for their actions is the only available incentive for those officers to respect the constitutional rights of watchlisted individuals. And courts have been unwilling to step in before these encounters to demand the government protect those rights.
“The risk that federal officers with almost limitless power will be held accountable in a court of law is the only protection Americans have to ensure that power is used properly,” said CAIR Trial Attorney Justin Sadowsky. “There can be no rights if there are no remedies.”
“American Muslims on the watchlist routinely suffer great harm as a result of the unconstitutional actions of federal officers,” added CAIR Staff Attorney Hannah Mullen. “CAIR hopes that the Ninth Circuit takes this opportunity to reverse the panel’s incorrect and deeply harmful narrowing of Bivens.”
CAIR defends the rights of incarcerated American Muslims in cases throughout the country.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Trial Attorney Justin Sadowsky, 646-785-9154, [email protected]; CAIR Staff Attorney Hannah Mullen, 202-742-6420, [email protected]