Removal Proceedings – Immigration

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Janko Branko Jankovic v. Loretta E. Lynch

Case No.:15-2144

Officials: EASTERBROOK and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges, and PALLMEYER, District Judge.

Focus: Removal Proceedings – Immigration

Appellant that fraudulently obtained lawful refugee status in US order to be removed – Fails to identify legal reasoning to allow wife to stay.

“Although no rule with legal effect requires pre-hearing disclosures, the Immigration Court Practice Manual §3.3(g) urges litigants to include written summaries with witness lists, in order to reduce risk that the IJ will need to grant a continuance to allow additional preparation. The agency’s counsel listed MacQueen as a potential witness, with this description: “Mr. Macqueen is expected to testify regarding the respondent’s service in the Republika Srpska Special Police Brigade.” Jankovic thinks this inadequate. More than a year before the hearing, Jankovic’s lawyer asked the IJ to exclude MacQueen’s proposed testimony and for permission to present a rebuttal expert. The IJ denied the former motion but granted him leave to present a rebuttal expert. Shortly before the hearing, the agency’s lawyer orally described MacQueen’s planned testimony, and Jankovic said on the record that this proffer satisfied his concerns. After MacQueen testified, Jankovic did not put on a rebuttal witness or request a continuance to allow additional time for that purpose. That failure, coupled with his concession that the oral description sufficed, likely waives his current line of argument, see Skorusa v. Gonzales, 482 F.3d 939, 942 (7th Cir. 2007), but even if it doesn’t we’ve explained why the argument does not carry the day.”

Petition for Review Dismissed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.