American Civil Liberties Union : Ineffective Assistance Right for Immigrants

Immigrants' Rights:
The ACLU has been one of the nation's leading advocates for the rights of immigrants, refugees and non-citizens, challenging unconstitutional laws and practices, countering the myths upon which many of these laws are based. Learn more about our Immigrants' Rights Project and take action to protect the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

Ineffective Assistance Right for Immigrants (10/7/2008)

In a radical departure from years of legal precedent, Attorney General Michael Mukasey is considering ending the practice of allowing immigrants to reopen cases that they lost because of their lawyers’ mistakes or incompetence. Mukasey gave a tight deadline for submitting briefs on the issue, preventing organizations opposing the change, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Bar Association (ABA), from providing a meaningful response.

On August 7, Mukasey asked that briefs responding to the proposed reversal of the “ineffective assistance” right be submitted by September 15. After several organizations protested, he extended the deadline just three more weeks to Monday, October 6 - still not sufficient time for most groups to submit briefs.

Letters
ACLU Letter to Attorney General Mukasey (10/6/2008)
ABA Letter to Attorney General Mukasey (10/16/2008)
Law Firms' Final Right to Counsel Letter to Attorney General Mukasey (9/4/2008)
Letter from National and Local Organizations to Attorney General Mukasey (8/27/2008)
AILF and ACLU Objection Letter to Attorney General Mukasey's Orders (8/27/2008)

Orders
Attorney General Mukasey's Order Eliminating "Ineffective Assistance" Right (1/7/2009)
Attorney General Mukasey's Order Regarding "Ineffective Assistance" Right (9/8/2008)
Attorney General Mukasey's Order Regarding "Ineffective Assistance" Right (8/7/2008)

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