Russell Abrutyn

Abrutyn Law PLLC

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Friday, February 12, 2010

Court rebukes EOIR's factfinding

http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/10a0053n-06.pdf
In Stewart v. Holder, the court reversed and remanded the denial of an in absentia order.  The court criticized the BIA's failure to address all of the relevant evidence.  The court found it "odd" that the Immigration Judge and BIA would make much of two purported "blatant falsehoods" in the noncitizen's affidavit.  The first was the noncitizen's claim that a court employee told him that the record did not contain a hearing notice mailed to his current address.  Rather than being a falsehood, the court found that this could just have plausibly been an error on the part of the employee who talked to the noncitizen.  Second, the noncitizen's affidavit misstated one of the relevant dates, a minor and irrelevant detail that could not be viewed as an attempt to enchance his claim.  The court noted that this error was no different than the erroneous date entered by the court on one of the hearing notices.

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