ACRL Wins Monumental Victory Against No Fly List In Published U.S. Sixth Circuit Court Of Appeals Opinion
The Arab-American Civil Rights League (“ACRL”) prevails in its fight against the unconstitutional implementation of the No Fly List before the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a published decision in Saeb Mokdad v. Loretta E. Lynch, et al., Case No. 14-1094 (6th Cir. 2015) in favor of the Plaintiff, Saeb Mokdad, who sued the Government challenging the Constitutionality of the implementation of the No Fly List. Mr. Mokdad is a U.S. citizen with no criminal record of any sort, who due to his placement on the No Fly List, has been unable to travel to Lebanon to visit family or conduct business. This case is one of only two legal challenges to the No Fly List in the nation, and the Sixth Circuit’s published decision now stands as binding precedent within the Sixth Circuit, and as persuasive authority for other Courts nationwide to follow.
The Sixth Circuit held as a matter of law that the U.S. District Courts have jurisdiction to hear challenges to the No Fly List, and reversed the lower Court’s decision by allowing Plaintiff Mokdad to proceed with his suit:
In sum, we decline to accept the government’s invitation to expand the inescapable intertwinement doctrine so as to find that Mokdad’s claim against the TSC is pulled within the ambit of the exclusive-review statute that applies to TSA. Doing so not only would be inconsistent with existing law but also would run the risk of inadvertently expanding the number and range of agency orders that might fall under exclusive-jurisdiction provisions that Congress did not intend to sweep so broadly. We therefore reverse the district court’s judgment that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to hear Mokdad’s claim directly challenging his placement by TSC on the No Fly List. That claim is remanded to the district court, which has subject-matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 that has not been displaced by 49 U.S.C. § 46110.
The Plaintiff, Saeb Mokdad, was represented by Attorney Nabih H. Ayad of Ayad Law, PLLC, who represents the ACRL in civil rights matters. Speaking on the historic ruling today, Saeb Mokdad’s Attorney and ACRL Chairman, Nabih H. Ayad said, “Today is a good day for our Constitution, a good day for Arab-Americans, and a good day for justice across this nation. This ruling confirms what we at the ACRL have stated from day one – that the unwarranted and un-Constitutional profiling of an entire group of people simply based on their ethnicity must be struck down as a violation of this nation’s highest law – the Constitution. By issuing today’s ruling, the U.S. Sixth Circuit has dealt a huge blow against the continued and unjustifiable intimidation and harassment by the Federal Government against Arab-Americans. The message the Court sent today cannot be clearer: we are a nation of laws, and if the Government will not hold itself accountable, we the people will defend our Constitutionally-guaranteed rights. I applaud the courageous decision made by the Judges of the U.S. Sixth Circuit panel, and hope that the Federal Government will come to realize that there is a force that will challenge such discriminatory action against Arab-Americans. We at the ACRL will not back down from solving the difficult challenges facing our community.”
The ACRL continues to provide a toll-free hotline, 1-844-CANT-FLY (1-844-226-8359), for its Class-Action lawsuit against the No Fly and Terrorist Watch Lists, where concerned individuals can place complaints regarding placement on the government No-Fly or Terrorist Watch Lists. Individuals who feel that they have been unfairly targeted or searched during travel are encouraged to contact the ACRL using this hotline. If you or anyone you know is either prevented from flying commercial flights or is stopped every time you go to the airport upon checking in and questioned for hours, please call 1-844-CANT-FLY (1-844-226-8359).
The ACRL will continue to fight to protect the Constitutional rights of Arab-Americans. A full-text copy of the Sixth Circuit’s decision is available in PDF and Word formats upon request. For questions or comments, please contact ACRL Chairman Nabih Ayad at (734) 749-4029 or nayad@ayadlaw.com.