Two caveats before I get to the main topic of this post. First, it is not my intention to provide in-depth legal analysis about any new judicial decision, statute or regulation. My reason is simple – I don’t want to bore you. Second, I am determined to keep this blog apolitical. I follow politics closely, but I refuse to believe that all decisions are based on politics – especially decisions made by public servants. Too often the accusation of a decision being political has muffled open and pragmatic dialogue about that decision.
With that in mind, lets focus on today’s topic – Attorney General Mukasey’s January 7th Matter of Compean decision. The decision states that individuals in deportation hearings do not have a legal or constitutional right to legal counsel and cannot use the deportation defense of incompetent legal representation. The decision overturns long standing precedent that individuals possessed such rights. The decision will likely speed up the deportation process.
Many individuals and organizations have chimed in on the Attorney General’s decision, including many who question the timing of the decision since it is so close to the end of the Bush administration. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Immigration Law Foundation have issued press releases criticizing the decision. A New York Times article reporting on the decision contains multiple opinions on the decision – some positive, some negative.
The staying power of this decision is yet to be seen as the Obama administration will soon take office and his Attorney General will likely review that decision. Nevertheless, the law has changed and readers and attorneys need to be mindful of the change.