Bivens

Oral argument: Nov. 1, 2011

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (June 7, 2010)

While serving time in a privately operated federal prison, Respondent Richard Lee Pollard fell and broke both his elbows. Pollard insists that the treatment he received from various prison employees following the accident amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of the Eighth Amendment. Thus, Pollard sued the individual offending employees. However, the district court dismissed Pollard's claim, finding that alternative tort-based remedies barred the constitutional charge. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed, finding that, because the private prison and its employees operate under the "color of federal law," Pollard has a valid claim under Supreme Court precedent. Petitioners Margaret Minneci and her fellow employees appeal, arguing that Supreme Court precedent limits extensions of this type of claim to cases where adequate state-law remedies do not exist. In response, Pollard maintains that he is among the category of victims that the Supreme Court sought to protect in decisions carving out this type of claim. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case could have a significant impact on the types of liabilities faced by private companies contracting with the federal government.

Oral argument: Dec. 10, 2008

Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit (June 14, 2007)

PRISONER ABUSE, QUALIFIED IMMUNITY, PLEADING REQUIREMENTS, BIVENS, TWOMBLY, JURISDICTION

In the wake of September 11, 2001, Javaid Iqbal, a Muslim Pakistani living in New York, was arrested on a variety of federal fraud and conspiracy charges and detained in a maximum security facility. He alleges that during that detention he was subjected to a variety of treatments and conditions that violated his constitutional rights. After pleading guilty and being deported to Pakistan, Iqbal filed a civil complaint in federal court, based largely on Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, alleging twenty-one separate constitutional violations against a number of high-ranking federal officials, including former Attorney General John Ashcroft. In the district court, Ashcroft sought a motion to dismiss on the grounds that Iqbal’s claim did not contain sufficient factual allegations to overcome Ashcroft’s qualified immunity defense. The district court denied Ashcroft’s motion, and the circuit court affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine the proper pleading standards when a defendant in a Bivens action is a high-ranking government official.