Robbins v. Rodriguez

Brief of Amici Curiae the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Support of Petitioners’ Principal and Response Brief.

Brief filed: 09/29/2014

Documents

Robbins v. Rodriguez

9th Circuit Court of Appeals; Case No. 13-56706 & 13-56755

Prior Decision

On appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. CV 07-3239-TJH (RNB).

Argument(s)

The immigration system fails to provide constitutionally mandates procedural safeguards required under common principles of due process. Petitioners, a class of detained noncitizens, seek to rectify this anomaly and bring the procedural protections of the immigration detention system in line with those provided in the pretrial justice and civil commitment regimes. To that end, the Court should adopt Petitioners’ requested procedural safeguards for detained noncitizens, including: (1) providing detainees with an automatic bond hearing; (2) requiring the government to justify detention by clear and convincing evidence; (3) requiring consideration of alternatives to detention; (4) providing adequate written notice of the hearing to allow for a meaningful opposition to detention; (5) providing periodic detention hearings; and (6) requiring consideration of the length of detention. The pretrial justice system provides procedural safeguards comparable to those requested by petitioners. The civil commitment system provides procedural safeguards comparable to those requested by petitioners.

Author(s)

James J. Farrell, James H. Moon, and Nathan M. Saper, Latham & Watkins LLP, Los Angeles, CA.