Court Dismisses Detainee Suit in--Of All Places--Washington State

A judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Washington in Seattle has dismissed a Bivens action by a former Guantanamo detainee against former Defense Secretary Bob Gates. Adel Hassan Hamad is a Sudanese former detainee who claims his detention at Guantanamo was illegal. U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman last week rejected qualified immunity for Gates, holding that the plaintiff alleges the violation of a clearly-established constitutional right. As she had done once before, however, she dismissed the complaint anyway on grounds that,

While the Court finds there is a clearly-established, constitutional right not to be detained and qualified immunity does not apply, Gates’s personal involvement in Hamad’s detention is not adequately plead. Hamad fails to allege facts that would plausibly suggest Gates was personally liable for violations of his Fifth Amendment rights.