U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Torts Branch, Washington, D.C. Highlights from a Sampling of Cases Litigated by the Constitutional Torts Staff

Jury Finds for U.S. Secret Service Agent in Protester Case -- Plaintiff protestors were repeatedly advised to move, and were ultimately arrested.  They sued alleging First and Fourth Amendment claims.  At trial, the jury answered special interrogatories indicating that the plaintiffs’ arrests were supported by probable cause.  Accordingly, the jury awarded no damages against the U.S. Secret Service Agent.

Court Finds Plaintiff to be a Vexatious Litigant in Case Dismissed Based on Absolute and Qualified Immunity -- The court took this extraordinary step in consideration of plaintiff’s numerous other filings, all related to a civil RICO judgment entered against the plaintiff ten years earlier.  The decision followed the district court’s ruling that the individual federal defendants, including several jurists, numerous court officers, federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials, were all entitled to absolute and/or qualified immunity from the plaintiff's lawsuit which alleged retaliatory prosecution, retaliatory denial of due process, and continued retaliatory imprisonment.

Case Alleging Unconstitutional Overseas Arrest and Detention Claims Against Former Secretary of Defense Is Dismissed -- The plaintiff in this action alleged that he was unlawfully arrested and detained for nine months by United States military personnel in Iraq.  Plaintiff sued the former Secretary of Defense, claiming that he was responsible for the violation of plaintiff’s constitutional rights in connection with his arrest and detention in Iraq.  The court dismissed the case reasoning that because the former Secretary of Defense did not reside in the district in which plaintiff brought the lawsuit, venue therefore was lacking over the United States in that district.

Wrongful Prosecution Claims Brought Against Federal Bureau Of Investigation Special Agents and the United States Dismissed -- The plaintiff claimed that he was wrongfully prosecuted for two murders and an attempted murder, alleging that he was prosecuted in retaliation for his refusal to serve as a confidential informant for the FBI.  The court granted the individual federal defendants’ motions to dismiss, holding that the FBI Special Agents were entitled to qualified immunity with respect to plaintiff's alleged constitutional claims, and that the plaintiff had also failed to state any actionable state law claims against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Court of Appeals Affirms District Court’s Dismissal of Bivens suit against former Director of the Credentialing Program Office for the Transportation Security Administration -- The plaintiff, a U.S. citizen, had a commercial driver’s license with a Hazardous Material Endorsement ("HME") -- an authorization to transport hazardous materials.  The TSA official, acting through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, revoked the HME on plaintiff’s commercial driver’s license under the Hazardous Materials Threat Assessment Program.  That program prohibits any individual from possessing a license to transport hazardous materials in commerce unless the TSA has first found that the individual does not pose a security risk.  Although his HME was ultimately reinstated, plaintiff claimed that he lost his job with a private trucking carrier due to the interim revocation.  He contended that the defendant TSA official’s actions violated the First and Fifth Amendments.  The appellate court affirmed the lower court’s finding that "special factors" counseled against implying a damages remedy in this case, and, in the alternative, that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over the individual TSA defendant.

Court Grants Summary Judgment to Agent, Finding No Fourth or Fifth Amendment Violation -- Plaintiff alleged that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent had stopped plaintiff’s vehicle during an ICE enforcement operation in violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.  The court held that the stop was reasonable and did not violate the Fourth Amendment and, furthermore, that the ICE Agent was entitled to qualified immunity on the Fourth Amendment claim.  The court also rejected the Fifth Amendment claim, finding that the plaintiff had presented insufficient evidence that the vehicle stop resulted from any impermissible racial profiling.

Court Dismisses CIA Leak Case -- The plaintiffs brought suit alleging that government officials were responsible for disclosing to the news media plaintiff’s classified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employment. According to the complaint, one of the plaintiff’s CIA employment status was improperly leaked in retaliation for criticism by the other plaintiff of administration statements regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.  The complaint asserted various constitutional and common law tort theories and sought damages from the defendant officials in their personal capacities.  The court, however, agreed with the government’s position that the case did not present appropriate circumstances for a judicially-implied damages remedy for the alleged constitutional violations and dismissed the case.  The court also agreed that because the officials acted in the scope of their federal employment, they could not be sued for common law torts.