Conviction for Leaving Water for Illegal Immigrants Reversed, and Criminal, Civil Rights and Immigration Matters

In Atlantic Nat'l Trust LLC v. Mt. Hawley Ins. Co., No. 09-35716, an action seeking insurance proceeds arising from a fire, the court dismissed defendants' appeal from the grant of plaintiff's motion to remand, holding that the court lacked appellate jurisdiction to review a federal district court order remanding a case to state court based on a ground colorably characterized as a "defect" for purposes of 28 U.S.C. section 1447(c).

In US v. Millis, No. 09-10134, the court reversed defendant's conviction under 50 C.F.R. section 27.94(a) for placing full, gallon-sized plastic bottles of water on trails in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge to help alleviate exposure deaths among undocumented immigrants crossing into the U.S., holding that the term "garbage" within the context of the regulation was sufficiently ambiguous that the rule of lenity would apply in this case.

Lu v. Powell, No. 08-56421, involved an action under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the U.S. and various officials, claiming that an asylum officer demanded sexual favors in return for assisting with plaintiffs' asylum applications.  The court affirmed the dismissal of the action in part where plaintiffs failed to point to any specific duty under the Fifth Amendment or any specific policy to support a claim of unconstitutional policymaking.  However, the court reversed the dismissal in part where the emotional distress suffered as a result of the demand for sexual favors was an injury distinct from the battery and could be proved by the plaintiffs.

In Galindo-Romero v. Holder, No. 05-73517, a petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing petitioner's appeal of an Immigration Judge's (IJ) decision terminating his formal removal proceedings, the court dismissed the petition where the court lacked jurisdiction to decide the merits of petitioner's petition for review because the decisions of the BIA and IJ resulted in no final order of removal.

In Camacho-Cruz v. Holder, No. 08-74483, a petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) denial of cancellation of removal because of petitioner's conviction for assault with a deadly weapon under Nevada state law, the court dismissed the petition where petitioner's conviction was categorically a crime of violence.

Related Resources

• Full Text of Atlantic Nat'l Trust LLC v. Mt. Hawley Ins. Co., No. 09-35716
• Full Text of US v. Millis, No. 09-10134
• Full Text of Lu v. Powell, No. 08-56421
• Full Text of Galindo-Romero v. Holder, No. 05-73517
• Full Text of Camacho-Cruz v. Holder, No. 08-74483