WHILE SESSIONS “BLOWS OFF” VIEWS OF “OUR GANG” OF RETIRED US IJs & BIA JUDGES, ARTICLE III (“REAL’) COURTS (& EVEN “OIL”) ARE PAYING ATTENTION – J.C. Andre of Sidley Austin Reports That 10th Circuit Has Remanded Matumona v. Sessions On The Issue Of Access To Counsel!

Judge Schmidt –

 

Thank you so much for the flattering post about our work with you all in recent months.

 

On that front, we have two updates for you all.

 

First, please see attached the as-filed versions of all three briefs filed last week in Cantarero-Lagos v. Sessions, CA5 No. 18-60115 (the petitioner’s brief, our amicus brief, and the nonprofit immigration legal services’ amicus brief).  As some of you will see, there were a couple of you whom we could not include as signatories to our brief because we received your joinders too late.  Our apologies for not being able to work those of you in by name, but we had a hard filing deadline of 10 p.m. PST on May 23.  Rest assured, however, that the helpful comments you gave us along the way are reflected in the brief.

 

Second, in case some of you were not yet aware, all of our work two months ago in Matumona v. Sessions, CA10 No. 18-09500, paid off.  On the government’s concession, the Tenth Circuit last week remanded the case to the BIA.  A copy of the remand order also is attached.

 

It’s been a pleasure and an honor to work with you guys so much over the last two months.

 

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend,

 

jc

 

JEAN-CLAUDE ANDRÉ

SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP
+1 213 896 6007
JCAndre@Sidley.com

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Here’s a copy of the remand order:

2018-05-22_Order Remanding

And, here’s a link to Hon. Jeffrey Chase’s previous blog on the Matumona Amicus effort:

https://wp.me/p8eeJm-2ko

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The pleasure is all ours, J.C.!  Thanks for everything that you and Katelyn Rowe have done for us and to Sidley Austin for agreeing to undertake this important pro bono project!

Always interesting how folks sometimes give your views more attention after you’re gone.

Sessions is setting a course for disaster in the Article III Courts. If he keeps on interfering with the judicial process and listening to only one side (as he has done all his life), DHS & DOJ are likely to get themselves so tied up in litigation that nobody will be deported as the Immigration Court system disintegrates and the Article IIIs move in to clean up the mess.

My current Immigration Law & Policy students at Georgetown Law seemed surprised to learn that there is a so-called “court system” in America where the Chief Prosecutor appoints the judges, sets the rules, and can change the result of any decision that he doesn’t like.  Sure sounds like something out of a Kafka novel or the Country Report on a Third World dictatorship.

PWS

05-30-18