Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Doherty
Encyclopedia
Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Doherty, 502 U.S. 314
(1992), confirmed finally that the Attorney General of the United States has broad discretion to reopen deportation (now called "removal") proceedings, as well as other adjudications heard before immigration courts.
, Ireland
, and the United Kingdom
. In May 1980, Doherty and fellow members of the Irish Republican Army
ambushed a car containing members of the British army, killing one of them. Doherty was tried for murder in Northern Ireland, but escaped from the maximum security prison
where he was being held during the trial. He was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison. After escaping from prison, however, Doherty entered the United States illegally in 1982. He was discovered in June 1983, and deportation proceedings were initiated. During these proceedings, Doherty applied for asylum and withholding of deportation. The United Kingdom asked the United States to extradite Doherty, but a federal judge ruled that he was not extraditable because his crimes were considered political offenses for which extradition was not required.
At the conclusion of the extradition proceedings, the deportation proceedings resumed. Doherty conceded deportability and designated Ireland as the country to which he should be deported. He then withdrew his applications for asylum and withholding of deportation. The INS challenged Doherty's selection of Ireland as his country of deportation, but the Board of Immigration Appeals
rejected the selection as unsupported by clear evidence. The INS then appealed this determination to the Attorney General. Ultimately, Attorney General Meese reversed the BIA and ordered Doherty deported to the United Kingdom.
By this time, the Irish Extradition Act had been passed, under which criminals in Ireland would face trial in the United Kingdom. Doherty thus sought to reopen the deportation proceedings in order to present his claims for asylum and withholding of deportation. He asserted that under the Irish Extradition Act, the British would seek to extradite him to the United Kingdom from Ireland if he should return there, and consequently he feared persecution in the United Kingdom. The BIA granted Doherty's motion to reopen, and the INS again appealed to the Attorney General. Attorney General Thornburgh
found three grounds for denying the motion to reopen.
The Second Circuit
affirmed Meese's order of deportation but reversed Thornburgh's order denying Doherty's motion to reopen. It believed that the Irish Extradition Act, coupled with Meese's denial of his designation of Ireland as his country of deportation (itself an unusual act) was new evidence that entitled Doherty to reopening. It also ruled that following INS v. Abudu
, , the Attorney General lacked discretion to deny reopening once an alien had established a prima facie case for withholding of deportation. Finally, the Second Circuit ordered the BIA to reevaluate Doherty's claim for asylum in light of the "foreign policy concerns" inherent in deporting a member of the IRA to Ireland.
Motions to reopen are disfavored, particularly in deportation proceedings, because they can upset the finality of determinations made and simply work to the advantage of deportable aliens who wish nevertheless to remain in the United States. After Abudu, courts review denials of motions to reopen for abuse of discretion. A majority of the Court concluded that Thornburgh had not abused his discretion in denying Doherty's motion for any one of the three reasons he gave.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1992), confirmed finally that the Attorney General of the United States has broad discretion to reopen deportation (now called "removal") proceedings, as well as other adjudications heard before immigration courts.
Facts
John Patrick Doherty was a citizen of Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In May 1980, Doherty and fellow members of the Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
ambushed a car containing members of the British army, killing one of them. Doherty was tried for murder in Northern Ireland, but escaped from the maximum security prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
where he was being held during the trial. He was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison. After escaping from prison, however, Doherty entered the United States illegally in 1982. He was discovered in June 1983, and deportation proceedings were initiated. During these proceedings, Doherty applied for asylum and withholding of deportation. The United Kingdom asked the United States to extradite Doherty, but a federal judge ruled that he was not extraditable because his crimes were considered political offenses for which extradition was not required.
At the conclusion of the extradition proceedings, the deportation proceedings resumed. Doherty conceded deportability and designated Ireland as the country to which he should be deported. He then withdrew his applications for asylum and withholding of deportation. The INS challenged Doherty's selection of Ireland as his country of deportation, but the Board of Immigration Appeals
Board of Immigration Appeals
The Board of Immigration Appeals is the part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review that reviews the decisions of the Immigration Courts and some decisions of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is an administrative appellate body that is part of the United States Department...
rejected the selection as unsupported by clear evidence. The INS then appealed this determination to the Attorney General. Ultimately, Attorney General Meese reversed the BIA and ordered Doherty deported to the United Kingdom.
By this time, the Irish Extradition Act had been passed, under which criminals in Ireland would face trial in the United Kingdom. Doherty thus sought to reopen the deportation proceedings in order to present his claims for asylum and withholding of deportation. He asserted that under the Irish Extradition Act, the British would seek to extradite him to the United Kingdom from Ireland if he should return there, and consequently he feared persecution in the United Kingdom. The BIA granted Doherty's motion to reopen, and the INS again appealed to the Attorney General. Attorney General Thornburgh
Dick Thornburgh
Richard Lewis "Dick" Thornburgh is an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as the 41st Governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987, and then as the U.S...
found three grounds for denying the motion to reopen.
The Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
affirmed Meese's order of deportation but reversed Thornburgh's order denying Doherty's motion to reopen. It believed that the Irish Extradition Act, coupled with Meese's denial of his designation of Ireland as his country of deportation (itself an unusual act) was new evidence that entitled Doherty to reopening. It also ruled that following INS v. Abudu
Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Abudu
A case in the United States Supreme Court, Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Assibi Abudu, 485 U.S. 94 , shifted the balance toward adjudications made by the INS and away from those made by the federal courts of appeals when aliens who had been ordered deported seek to present new evidence...
, , the Attorney General lacked discretion to deny reopening once an alien had established a prima facie case for withholding of deportation. Finally, the Second Circuit ordered the BIA to reevaluate Doherty's claim for asylum in light of the "foreign policy concerns" inherent in deporting a member of the IRA to Ireland.
The Court's Opinion
When Attorney General Thornburgh denied Doherty's motion to reopen, he offered three separate grounds for doing so. First, Thornburgh concluded that Doherty did not present new evidence that warranted reopening. Second, he concluded that Doherty had waived his claims to asylum and withholding of deportation when he abandoned those claims during the original deportation proceedings. Third, he concluded that Doherty was ineligible for withholding of deportation and for asylum because he had committed "serious nonpolitical crimes" in Northern Ireland.Motions to reopen are disfavored, particularly in deportation proceedings, because they can upset the finality of determinations made and simply work to the advantage of deportable aliens who wish nevertheless to remain in the United States. After Abudu, courts review denials of motions to reopen for abuse of discretion. A majority of the Court concluded that Thornburgh had not abused his discretion in denying Doherty's motion for any one of the three reasons he gave.
See also
- List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 502
- List of United States Supreme Court cases
- Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
- List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Rehnquist Court