Democrats and many of the groups that represent immigration attorneys and judges have argued that the courts should be removed from the Justice Department and reimagined as a stand-alone court system, resembling systems like the bankruptcy courts. In a Freedom of Information Act response, the Justice Department confirmed that a board member was banned from the building in April 2013 as a result of a complaint against him. Immigration Court Backlog and Reprioritization, AILAs Immigration Law Practice & Procedure Manual, EOIR Announces that Chief Immigration Judge Is Stepping Down. The department said all hiring for immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals follows an open, merit-based process. One former top supervisor who oversaw immigration judges in the court system made sexual jokes and talked with colleagues about whether female judge candidates were attractive, the report found. The Office of Personnel Management publishes a list of the observed dates of every federal holiday by year online at this link: OPM holidays. endstream endobj 134 0 obj <>/Metadata 13 0 R/PageLayout/OneColumn/Pages 131 0 R/StructTreeRoot 17 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 135 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Type/Page>> endobj 136 0 obj <>stream Subject: FW: status inquiry by MuckRock FOIA#2018-37357. 5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 1800 Its a problem that Bidens administration has inherited. She said it wasnt until she told the story to colleagues who worked in other federal courts, and saw them react with horror, that she realized it was uncommon behavior for a judge. Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed. A third, a supervisor based mostly in San Francisco, commented with colleagues about the attractiveness of female job candidates, an internal investigation concluded. Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Act Request #2018-37357. ( None of those deals with sexist or sexually inappropriate behavior, instead focusing on improper handling of the judicial process. SF Chief IJ Print Maggard will be the acting chief IJ for EOIR until replacement for departing Chief OLeary is found. Other senior managers also commented on the womens appearance, it said. In the early 2010s, a womans complaint about Grants behavior caught the attention of then-President Barack Obamas director of the immigration courts, who opened an investigation. From May 2009 to December 2011, Judge Maggard served at the San Francisco Immigration Court as an immigration judge. The Justice Department cited its policy of not commenting on personnel matters in refusing to answer questions about Maggards conduct. In such cases, The Chronicle has complete knowledge of the unnamed person's identity and of how that person is in position to know the information. Immigration attorney Sophia Genovese says it is common for judges to make inappropriate comments, and theres just no accountability for it.. The George Washington University Law School, University of the Pacific - McGeorge School of Law, {{ userNotificationState.getAlertCount('bell') }}. Chronicle investigation: U.S. Justice Department lacks strong harassment oversight for judges, Lauren Lancaster / Special to The Chronicle, Lynsey Weatherspoon / Special to The Chronicle, 11 complaints have been filed about Cassidy, complaint alleging violations of immigrants rights, close enough that they corresponded personally, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). endstream endobj 137 0 obj <>stream The Board of Immigration Appeals primarily reviews appeals of decisions by immigration judges. About the Court | Contact the Court | Public Health | Immigration Court Procedures | Helpful Links, Internet-Based Hearings Access Information. :.bCI*|p=5-T?n69e$[%iml!. The judge ruled in her favor. A redacted copy of the report was provided to The Chronicle by Hoppock, who also received the inspector general investigation through the Freedom of Information Act. In comparison, for its state court system, California has a Commission on Judicial Performance to investigate complaints against judges, an independent agency with investigatory powers and authority to impose discipline. He cracked a joke, and she was not amused, which Cassidy noticed. The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ) is headed by the Chief Immigration . Supervisors concluded that Grant had harassed female staffers, and took an extraordinary step: They banned Grant from the court building. Only then, she argues, should he support legislation making the courts independent. How long was I? He basically said to me, Are you naturally a blonde maybe? Like, I dont get it because Im a blonde, not a brunette, said the attorney, who requested anonymity because she still practices before the Atlanta court and is concerned about the way sexual harassment victims are treated when they go public. Any materials or objects of any kind that could be used as a weapon are prohibited. If the current person in charge didnt know him, I would get it, Antonini said of Cassidys promotion. Attached is correspondence from the Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy, which is associated with the above-referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Want the latest investigative and FOIA news? I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 24, 2018. Antonini, who also knows McHenry, said he should have been well aware of Cassidys in-court behavior. Grant issues his rulings without seeing the inside of a courtroom. Robert Print Maggard's 2021 pay is 22% higher than the average General Attorney across all agencies. From July 2006 . Six of the 11 complaints resulted in no consequences, either because managers couldnt substantiate the allegations after reviewing the record or the issues raised were matters to be decided in the appeals process. In EOIR space, staff or signs may direct you to a seat. After the report was completed in November 2019, Maggard was demoted and reassigned to be an immigration judge in Sacramento. To maintain appropriate social distancing and best facilitate hearings, you may be asked to move or leave a particular area. Appeal information is as follows: * Appeal Tracking Number: DOJ-AP-2019-000724 * Request Tracking Number: 2018-37357 * Requester Name: Matthew Hoppock * Date Submitted: 10/26/2018 * Appeal Status: Submitted * Description: EOIR appeal, Recently Disciplined Practitioners, Reinstated (9).pdf, Matter of FALODUN, 27 I&N Dec. 52 (BIA 2017).pdf, Matter of D-R-, 27 I&N Dec. 105 (BIA 2017).pdf, EOIR Case Law Bulletin (Week of June 20, 2017).pdf, FW_ EOIR Case Law Bulletin (Week of Aug. 21, 2017).pdf, FW_ EOIR Case Law Bulletin (Week of Apr. Truslow, who said it was her first hearing on the job, was furious. Law360 provides the intelligence you need to remain an expert and beat the competition. JugePrint was appointed as a DCIJ in November 2015. Acting Chief Immigration Judge Print Maggard, who presided over the investiture during a ceremony held on January 29, 2016, stated that the new immigration judges would help decrease EOIR's pending caseload. S;yNm!>C5dRj'@>qTBz/l}QyE]m)N}-UB3PUYYP'dd}*;D<36k1/1st:_ *P An immigration judge might retaliate against the advocate by punishing her clients and these are people fleeing persecution, rape and even death, Mendez said. Prior to that appointment as a DCIJ, he served as the Acting Chief Immigration Judge from July 2015 to March 2016, and as an Assistant Chieflmmigration Judge from January 2012 to July 2015. EOIR regularly monitors the performance and conduct of its adjudicators through daily supervision by EOIR's three adjudicating components: the Office of Document: Declaration of Print Maggard (June 26, 2017) Northwest Immigrants Rights Project (NWIRP) v. Sessions ( U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington) back to case Save State / Territory: Washington Document Type: Pleading / Motion / Brief Docket Number (s): 2:17-cv-00716 ECF Number: 48 Party Type (s): Defendant [[To print the PDF on this page please use the print function in the PDF reader. Together, the documents show mild consequences for subjects of repeated complaints, including Cassidy. The redactions in these e-mail messages are improper because most do not cite any valid exemption under the FOIA. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/home. All visitors to any building or facility in which an EOIR operation is located are required to comply with all relevant laws or policies governing access to those buildings or facilities. Judge Daugherty is a member of the Ohio Bar. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF IMMIGRATION JUDGE . Immigration judges concluded a record 276,000 cases in fiscal 2019 and were on pace to close 400,000 cases in fiscal 2020 before the pandemic ground the immigration court system to a near halt. And if someone says, No, no, you have to identify it, and you cannot, they say, Well, it doesnt exist., Atlanta immigration attorney Hiba Ghalib says of a judges comments: There was never anything so direct that it was anything I could file a complaint on it was just uncomfortable and annoying., Hiba Ghalib, an attorney who practices in Atlanta, said of Cassidys behavior: There was never anything so direct that it was anything I could file a complaint on it was just uncomfortable and annoying. For years, women working at the national headquarters of the immigration courts in Falls Church, Va., shared whispered warnings about Judge Edward R. Grant. This is normally due to the consultation being transferred to another agency (for example, EPA to Dept. It really took them pointing out how serious this behavior was for me to realize that this is not ordinary behavior for other (federal) judges. FALLS CHURCH, VA - The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the investiture of two immigration judges. Washington, DC 20005. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Learn how to tackle challenges like finding and retaining affordable staff, working better in a hybrid or remote environment, when and how to raise fees, and much more. You can have a judge that has three or four complaints against them, and action is being taken, but if no one knows, the judge can hide it and no one knows the complaints are doing anything. Other judges may have been fired, but the department does not separate firings from retirements or resignations in its data. Sacramento, CA 95814. Phones and electronic devices must be silenced in the court lobby. The departments main objectives are to enforce the law and defend the interests of the U.S. according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and Find contact details for 700 million professionals. Removing judges who commit misconduct from the courts will be no easy task for Biden, as the system itself is part of the problem, experts say. 161 0 obj <>stream The Chronicle reported in October that the Trump administration canceled all diversity training, including for immigration judges. The U.S. I dont want my daughter to grow up to become a professional and still have to suffer that kind of thing in this environment, Truslow said. A complaint about a San Francisco judge alleged he used incorrect pronouns for a transgender immigrant and asked one who was testifying about being tortured by police whether anyone ever insert(ed) anything into your ass in custody.. But in practice, there is little to prevent judges from retaliating against someone who complains, attorneys say. U.S. Thank you,-----------------------------------------Initial Request StaffOffice of Information PolicyU.S. A joint initiative between the American Immigration Council and AILA seeks to change the playing field for immigrants facing deportation. Some of the appointments they have made up there have been some of the worst offenders.. The brand-new 18th edition of Kurzban's Immigration Law Sourcebook is now shipping. Its quite literally a Sophies choice that should never happen in the American legal system.. Falls Church, VA 22041 Attorneys go before the same judges regularly, and those judges wide discretion gives them ample room to make life difficult for a lawyer who crosses them. As necessary and when appropriate, individuals with medical conditions that prevent them from wearing a face covering should alert the judge to their situation. Many e-mail messages are redacted in part with the text "not a responsive record." 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