Supreme Court rules detained 'witness' cannot sue U.S. officials

(CNN) -- The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a lifelong U.S. citizen who was held in jail for 16 days by the federal government as a "material witness" in an ongoing terror investigation.

Abdullah al-Kidd was never charged and never called to testify, but the justices, by an 8-0 vote on Tuesday, said the Kansas native cannot hold former Bush administration officials -- in particular, onetime Attorney General John Ashcroft -- personally liable for wrongful arrest and detention.

The decision is a victory for the government's efforts to detain those with potential links to terrorism.

Material witness laws allow officials to detain those who may have knowledge of crimes committed by others to ensure they will testify in legal proceedings, including grand jury sessions and trials.

American Civil Liberties Union lawyers representing al-Kidd say the government had warped the law to allow open-ended arrests and confinement of citizens without anyone being later held accountable for those wrongfully held.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/05/31/scotus.detained.witness/index.html

Oh, the nostalgia.