[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] on Friday that a former defense contractor who alleged that he was tortured while detained by the US military in Iraq cannot sue former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld [JURIST news archive]. The contractor, known only as “John Doe,” asserted in his lawsuit [Reuters report] that Rumsfeld was personally liable for his injuries because Rumsfeld developed and implemented the policies that led to Doe’s torture. The court rejected Doe’s argument, saying that allowing lawsuits like Doe’s would place an enormous strain on the military’s ability to carry out its day-to-day operations:

Litigation of Doe’s case would require testimony from top military officials as well as forces on the ground, which would detract focus, resources, and personnel from the mission in Iraq. … Allowing such an action would hinder our troops from acting decisively in our nation’s interest for fear of judicial review of every detention and interrogation.

It is unclear if Doe plans to appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court.

Doe originally filed suit against Rumsfeld in the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] in 2008. The district court held that Doe could proceed with his lawsuit against Rumsfeld under the 1971 case Bivens v. Six Unknown Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics. The district court also held that Doe had the right to be free from detention and interrogation practices that “shock the conscience,” and that Doe pleaded facts sufficient to support his claim that Rumsfeld violated that right.