San Fran City Attorney Wins Court Order Requiring Law Firm to Cut Ties with Ex-Practitioner

The San Francisco city attorney has won a preliminary injunction requiring an immigration lawyer and his law firm to stop working with a former attorney who is no longer licensed. Attorney Christopher Stender and his Immigration Practice Group must also notify current and former clients of ex-lawyer Martin Guajardo that…

Mar 22, 2011 11:19 PM CDT

Onetime ICE Lawyer Gets 17 Years for Taking Bribes

A former assistant chief counsel for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for taking bribes to help immigrants fill out false paperwork to remain legally in this country. Constantine Peter Kallas, 40, was sentenced today during a closed hearing in federal…

Mar 21, 2011 7:28 PM CDT

Lawyer Chronicles His City and Passion for Pie

What’s lawyer Chris Chen eating for dessert? It’s pie—about a slice a day, the Washington Post blog All We Can Eat reports. This week Chen ordered pies in these varieties: pecan maple, cappuccino, Ho-Ho, flourless chocolate, peanut butter pie, wild cherry, buttermilk and mixed berry. Chen is a lawyer in…

Feb 11, 2011 11:30 AM CST

Va. Judge Ignores State Supreme Court Ruling After Deciding It’s Just Plain Wrong

The Virginia Supreme Court was unanimous when it ruled last month that state judges can’t use a writ of error coram vobis to reopen the cases of immigrants who weren’t informed that they could be deported after a criminal conviction. But Judge Dean Worcester, the chief general district judge in…

Feb 7, 2011 2:23 PM CST

Judge’s ‘Sickening Feeling’ and Racism Remarks Allowed, Kozinski Says

A magistrate judge’s remarks about “institutionalized racism” and the potential for intolerance after the Sept. 11 attacks don’t violate the judicial conduct code, according to the chief judge for the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The opinion by Judge Alex Kozinski doesn’t name the judge, but it’s…

Feb 3, 2011 5:28 PM CST

Trumpeted ICE Program for Catching Illegal Immigrants May Not Include Some Worrisome Suspects

Federal officials have urged local authorities to participate in a Secure Communities program that calls for them to check arrestees against a computer database for immigration violations before they are released. But it appears that the database may not be as comprehensive as some have thought, reports the Washingon Post.…

Jan 28, 2011 1:44 AM CST

New ABA Commission Holds its First Hearing on the Legal Needs of Latinos

Jan 1, 2011 6:50 AM CST

Deposition Disclosure Fights Involve Robo-Signers and Sheriff Joe Arpaio

May depositions be posted on the Internet or otherwise released to the public? A Florida lawyer who posted robo-signer testimony and an Arizona sheriff targeted in a racial profiling lawsuit are taking opposite stands in court battles over the issue. Sarasota, Fla., lawyer Christopher Forrest is challenging a temporary injunction…

Dec 10, 2010 1:47 PM CST

Is It ‘Illegal’ or ‘Undocumented’ Immigrants? Sotomayor Opts for the Latter

In oral arguments on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court considered an Arizona law that revokes the licenses of businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The legal issue was whether federal law pre-empts Arizona’s tougher penalties. But another issue, not directly addressed, is whether “illegal immigrants” or “undocumented immigrants” is the…

Dec 9, 2010 4:59 PM CST

Raising Arizona: High Court Eyes State’s Punishments for Hiring Unauthorized Aliens

Dec 1, 2010 7:10 AM CST

San Francisco Sues to Close Down Immigration Law Firm, Claims ‘Exorbitant’ Fees

A lawsuit filed by the city of San Francisco claims that a lawyer voluntarily disbarred for high fees and inadequate representation continued to prey on immigration clients by hiring another lawyer to act as a front. In a news conference, City Attorney Dennis Herrera called the disbarred lawyer, Martin Guajardo,…

Nov 18, 2010 2:36 PM CST

California High Court Says Illegal Immigrants Qualify for In-State Tuition

In a first for the nation, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that illegal immigrants who graduate from state high schools can receive lower tuition at California’s public universities and colleges. Reporting on Monday’s ruling, the Los Angeles Times notes that California is one of 10 states that allow undocumented…

Nov 16, 2010 9:11 PM CST

Supreme Court Appears Unlikely to Strike Down Gender Difference in Citizenship Law

A drug dealer seeking to be declared an American citizen appears likely to fail in his Supreme Court argument that gender differences in U.S. immigration law are unconstitutional. Ruben Flores-Villar claims he stands to be deported under an unconstitutional double standard, according to stories in the Los Angeles Times, the…

Nov 11, 2010 1:25 PM CST

Randy Quaid Says Lawyers Are Trying to Kill His Career and Possibly Murder Him

Actor Randy Quaid said Thursday he is not crazy as he elaborated on claims that he and his wife could fall victim to “Hollywood Star whackers” who are secretly responsible for the deaths of Heath Ledger and David Carradine. “I’m being embezzled by this monstrous ring of accountants, estate planners…

Oct 29, 2010 3:02 PM CDT

Randy Quaid Seeks Asylum in Canada; Wife Claims He’s on Hit List

Updated: Randy Quaid and his wife claim they are in danger and are seeking asylum in Canada after skipping a U.S. court hearing for allegedly squatting in their former California home. The Quaids claim the actor’s life is in danger because of “Hollywood Star whackers” who are secretly responsible for…

Oct 25, 2010 12:04 PM CDT