WITH LOTS OF HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS @ ARENT FOX, ROUND TABLE 🛡⚔️⚖️👩🏻‍⚖️🗽STRIKES ANOTHER BLOW FOR DUE PROCESS! — Here’s Our Amicus Brief in Matter of A-M-R-C- — Issue: AG’s Interference With 14-Year-Old Final Asylum Grant!

 

 

Nancy A. Noonan
Nancy A. Noonan
Partner
Arent Fox
D.C.

 

Berin S. Romagnolo
Berin S. Romagnolo
Of Counsel
Arent Fox
Boston
Sara T. Schneider
Sara T. Schneider
Associate
Aren’t Fox
San Francisco
Jake Christensen
Jake Christensen
Associate
Arent Fox
San Francisco

 

2020 0929 AMRC Amicus Brief with Exhibits – Amended POS

In the absence of any justifying change in fact or law, the Attorney General (“AG”) has reopened Mr. Chowdhury’s case fourteen (14) years after he received a final decision on the merits of his claim for asylum following a full evidentiary hearing before the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) and a complete and fair review by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA” or “Board”).
The AG’s invocation of his self-referral authority is wholly improper here. As an initial matter, the AG lacks the authority to reopen and terminate asylum cases once asylum has been granted by an IJ or the Board. But even if the AG had such authority, doing so in this case constitutes ultra vires conduct in violation of Mr. Chowdhury’s due process rights given the excessive and unreasonable delay in referral. The referral is additionally improper because, under the principles of res judicata, there should be a finality and certainty to judgments, particularly where there is no change in fact or law and so much time has passed. In addition, it appears that the AG is succumbing to political pressure from the Executive branch and is reopening the case to align with its foreign policy to aid Bangladesh. Such bias and political motivation is contrary to our immigration system, and indeed our entire legal system. Lastly, the unjustified and excessive delay in reviewing Mr. Chowdhury’s case violates his due process rights and runs contrary to the humanitarian intent of the law.
The AG’s decision to intervene unfairly and unlawfully in a long-settled asylum case infringes the sense of safety, security, and wellbeing of not only Mr. Chowdhury and his family, but also tens of thousands of other asylees who have made their homes in the U.S. in reliance on asylum and protection from persecution and in many cases, violence, in their countries of origin. The Amici Curie respectfully urge the AG to leave Mr. Chowdhury’s asylum case undisturbed, thereby respecting his rights as well, as the rights of the tens of thousands of asylees who have been granted refuge here, and maintaining the fair and impartial adjudication process in place.

***********************

Read the entire brief at the above link.

Many thanks again to Nancy and her pro bono team at Arent Fox!

Knightess
Knightess of the Round Table

PWS

10-04-20

🏴‍☠️REWRITING HISTORY: Billy The Bigot Barr’s Plan To Undo Bush-Era Asylum Grant Due To Pressure From Foreign Government Takes Legal Nihilism To New Depths 🤮 — Politico’s Betsy Woodruff Swan Reports On Matter of A-M-R-C-

Betsy Woodruff Swan
Betsy Woodruff Swan
FederalLaw Enforcement Reporter
Politico

https://apple.news/A8oVgQ_C-SiyOEmGp8ZZCew

He thought he had asylum. Now, he could face a death sentence.

Rashed Chowdhury was a bit player in a years-old coup. His home country wants him back. And now, his fate is in William Barr’s hands.

By BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN
07/24/2020 04:30 AM EDT

Late last month, Attorney General William Barr quietly reopened a sprawling case that spans four decades and two continents. It involves the killing of a president, a decades-old death sentence and a hard-fought battle for asylum pitting a former Bangladeshi military officer against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

For almost 15 years, the case was closed. But now, thanks to Barr, it’s back. And immigration lawyers say the move sends a chilling message to people who have received asylum in the U.S. It signals, they argue, that even after years of successful legal battles, any protection could still be revoked out of the blue.

They also say the move’s timing is inscrutable. The legal team for the military officer—wanted by Bangladesh’s government for decades—says it suspects foul play, and that if the U.S. deports him, he is all but certain to be executed.

“It’s purely a favor the Trump administration is doing for Bangladesh,” said Marc Van Der Hout, a lawyer for the man in question, Rashed Chowdhury. “And the question is, why are they doing it?”

Bangladesh’s government has for years been open about its efforts to persuade the U.S. to extradite Chowdhury—whom it calls a cold-blooded assassin. And there’s no question it will be delighted by Barr’s move.

What’s less clear is why, exactly, the attorney general reopened the case—and what he plans to do next. This story is based on exclusive interviews and legal documents reviewed by POLITICO.

. . . .

******************

Read the rest of Betsy’s article in Politico at the above link.

Here’s my previous coverage of the “Modern Cadaver Trial”

https://immigrationcourtside.com/2020/06/22/spectacle-justice-pope-billy-convenes-%e2%98%a0%ef%b8%8fcadaver-synod%e2%98%a0%ef%b8%8f-looks-to-exhume-decade-old-dead-case-for/

PWS

07-27-20 

SPECTACLE @ JUSTICE: POPE BILLY CONVENES  ☠️“CADAVER SYNOD”☠️— Looks to “Exhume” Decade-Old “Dead” Case for Punishment in EOIR Star Chamber!

TOLES ON BARR
Tom Toles on Billy Barr
Cadaver Trial
Jean-Paul Laurens
Pope Formosus & Stephen VI
1870

Pope Formosus died on April 4, 896. But, if he thought his worldly sins had passed on with him, he had not counted on the tenacity of his successor Pope Stephen VI. In 897, “PS-6” had his predecessor’s body dug up and the corpse brought before the Papal Court to answer charges of perjury, violating canon law, and illegally serving as a bishop.

The corpse was dressed and propped up on a throne. Apparently recognizing Formosus’s financial distress and limited mental capacity, PS-6 appointed a church deacon to be the dead Pope’s “mouthpiece.” There are no records, however, of the deacon’s actually consulting with his “client” on a defense strategy. PS-6 vigorously prosecuted the case.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the corpse was found guilty after trial. Formosus was stripped of his vestments, had three fingers cut off his right hand, and was unceremoniously thrown into the Tiber River weighted down with the 9th Century equivalent of “concrete overshoes.”

In a rather ironic twist of fate, the corpse eventually resurfaced and washed ashore. Finally finding the love and devotion that had eluded him in life, as a washed up corpse, Formosus started to perform miracles and became an object of veneration by the people. They turned on PS-6, who was eventually imprisoned and strangled. Perhaps the moral here is “don’t mess with the dead.”

Now, the direct successor to PS-6, Pope Billy the Bigot Barr, has reached back into the reign of King George II of Bush to exhume the corpus of A-M-R-C-, finally laid to rest in the Year of Our Lord 2006, the sixth year of the reign of Bush II. He intends to seek “justice” before the Star Chamber of the EOIR, his private judge, jury, and executioner.

But, watch out Billy, as PS-6 found, even beating up on dead corpses and other vulnerables can be dangerous! Cowardly arrogance and gross abuses of justice, divine or human, can come back to bite even the high and mighty.

The potential for post-mortem perjury prosecutions should be of grave concern to Trump, Billy, Gonzo, “Big Mac” With Lies, Nielsen, Kelly, and a host of other Trump officials. The possibility of post-mortem disbarment for outgoing Trump Solicitor General Noel Francisco and his band of truth and decency challenged DOJ lawyers should also haunt their futures, along with the ghosts of the broken bodies, cries of abused children, and souls of those only “crime” was to seek justice in America that they have unjustly maligned, prosecuted, and persecuted  in the name of Trump’s White Nationalism.

Meanwhile, the Jesters of the Papal Court 🤡🤹‍♂️, also known as Article III Judges, continue to watch the spectacle of American justice dying before their eyes while they daily fail to take the strong, courageous, action to end Billy’s Star Chambers! 

An outstanding lecture on “The Cadaver Trial” (and other Great Trials of World History) by Professor Douglas O. Linder of the U. Of Missouri-KC School Law is available on The Great Courses. You can watch the trailer and sign up for a free trial subscription (if not already a member) here.  https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/the-great-trials-of-world-history-and-the-lessons-they-teach-us “The Cadaver Trial” is among the three Medieval Trails covered in “Lecture #3” and inspired this piece.

The latest on the Strange Saga of A-M-R-C- and the adventures of Pope Billy the Bigot can be found at LexisNexis Immigration Community courtesy of Papal Historian Dan Kowalski.  https://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/eoir-posts-case-underlying-matter-of-a-m-r-c-

PWS

06-21-20

STAR CHAMBER: Barr Moves To Interfere With Judicial Independence Again – Appears Anxious & Ready To Change Result of Rare BIA “Victory” For Foreign National! — Amicus Solicitation in Matter of A-M-, 28 I&N Dec. 7 (A.G. 2020)

Bigoted Bully Billy Barr Brutalizes Justice as Federal Courts Fail
Bigoted Bully Billy Barr Brutalizes Justice as Federal Courts Fail

 

Cite as 28 I&N Dec. 7 (A.G. 2020) Interim Decision #3986

Matter of A-M-R-C-, Respondent

Decided by Attorney General June 17, 2020

U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General

BEFORE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(h)(1)(i), I direct the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board”) to refer this case to me for review of its decision. To assist me in my review, I invite the parties to this proceeding and interested amici to submit briefs on points relevant to the disposition of this case, including:

  1. Would the delay in my referral of this case cause the respondent to suffer any “prejudice from any inability to prove his defenses,” Costello v. United States, 365 U.S. 265, 283 (1961), or otherwise prevent me from reviewing the Board’s decision in this matter?
  2. Did the Board err in determining as a matter of its discretion that there was not probable cause that the respondent had committed a “serious nonpolitical crime”? 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(2)(A)(iii). In making such a determination, did the Board correctly conclude that the crime of which the respondent had been convicted in absentia was not “disproportionate to the objective” or “of an atrocious or barbarous character”? Deportation Proceedings for Joseph Patrick Thomas Doherty, 13 Op. O.L.C. 1, 23 (1989) (internal citation omitted).
  3. Did the Board err in determining that the persecutor bar at 8 C.F.R. § 1208.13(c)(2)(i)(E) did not apply to the respondent’s asylum claim?
  4. Did the Board apply the correct legal standard in concluding that the respondent’s in absentia trial suffered from due process problems even though the Department of State had found that the trial had satisfied due process?

The parties’ briefs shall not exceed 15,000 words and shall be filed on or before July 17, 2020. Interested amici may submit briefs not exceeding 9,000 words on or before July 31, 2020. The parties may submit reply briefs not exceeding 6,000 words on or before July 31, 2020. All filings shall be accompanied by proof of service and shall be submitted electronically to AGCertification@usdoj.gov, and in triplicate to:

7

Cite as 28 I&N Dec. 7 (A.G. 2020) Interim Decision #3986

United States Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General, Room 5114 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530

All briefs must be both submitted electronically and postmarked on or before the pertinent deadlines. Requests for extensions are disfavored.

***********************************

Billy Barr, Chief Prosecutor, gets to select the judges, make the rules, evaluate the judges’ “performance,” and set the anti-immigrant “tone” in this farcical imitation of a “court system.”

But, sometimes even those advantages aren’t enough to prevent justice from prevailing. Then, as here, Barr merely reaches into the system, even long “after the fact,” rewrites the analysis, and changes the law so the immigrant loses, which (surprise) is going to be the predetermined result here. Yet, this clear denial of constitutional due process and fundamental fairness is allowed to continue.

What if those who run this thoroughly illegal and corrupt system were judged by the same methods and standards that they use to “judge” others?

 

PWS

06-17-20