On May 31 , 2011 , the Supreme Court , in a 8-0 ruling , stated that al-Kidd 's lawyers had not met the high burden of proof needed to show that Attorney General Ashcroft could be personally sued , that he was directly involved or had explicit knowledge of the events ( suggesting the matter was handled mostly by distant subordinates ) .
On May 31 , 2011 , the Supreme Court , in a 5-3 ruling along the Court 's ideological lines , stated that Al-Kidd 's lawyers had not met the high burden of proof needed to show that Attorney General Ashcroft could be personally sued - that he was directly involved or had explicit knowledge of the events ( suggesting the matter was handled mostly by distant subordinates ) .