Ashcroft v. Iqbal

556 U.S. 662 (2009)

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Ashcroft v. Iqbal

United States Supreme Court
556 U.S. 662 (2009)

  • Written by DeAnna Swearingen, LLM
Ashcroft v. Iqbal

Facts

Javaid Iqbal (plaintiff), a Pakistani Muslim, was detained in maximum security during the investigations following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Iqbal sued former United States attorney general John Ashcroft, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller, and other officials (defendants) alleging constitutional violations. Regarding Ashcroft and Mueller, the complaint alleged that they willfully agreed to a policy that subjected Iqbal to harsh confinement conditions because of his religion, race, or national origin. The complaint claimed that the FBI, at Mueller’s direction, detained thousands of Arab Muslim men and that Ashcroft and Mueller approved a policy to hold such men in highly restrictive confinement until cleared by the FBI. Ashcroft and Mueller claimed qualified immunity and moved to dismiss Iqbal’s complaint for failure to state a claim. The district court denied the motion, and the Second Circuit affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kennedy, J.)

Dissent (Breyer, J.)

Dissent (Souter, J.)

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Casebooks

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Key Terms

  • Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8Rule that sets forth the general requirements for pleading civil claims in federal courts, including stating a claim for which relief can be granted, admissions and denials, and affirmative defenses.
  • Twombly RuleRequirement set forth in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), that a complaint must allege sufficient facts that, if accepted as true, would “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face” in order to defeat a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

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