Innovation Law Lab v. Nielsen

310 F. Supp. 3d 1150
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedJune 25, 2018
DocketCase No. 3:18–cv–01098–SI
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 310 F. Supp. 3d 1150 (Innovation Law Lab v. Nielsen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Innovation Law Lab v. Nielsen, 310 F. Supp. 3d 1150 (D. Or. 2018).

Opinion

Michael H. Simon, District Judge.

We are a nation under law, and the rule of law is one of our most cherished values. The right to counsel, which allows a person to receive timely legal advice, is firmly entrenched in the concept of due process and protected by the Fifth Amendment against governmental interference. Further, this right is available to everyone in the United States, not just citizens or others who are here lawfully. In this case, Plaintiffs assert that the government is interfering with the rights of persons being civilly detained under our complex immigration laws from receiving the benefits of the right to counsel. No request is being made to provide legal counsel at taxpayer expense. The only relief sought is to enjoin the government from continuing to interfere with a civil immigrant detainee's right to counsel when there are volunteer attorneys, expert in immigration matters, ready, willing, and able to provide legal assistance without charge. For the reasons that follow, the Court grants the requested relief.

Plaintiffs Innovation Law Law ("Law Lab") and Luis Javier Sanchez Gonzalez, by Xochitl Ramos Valencia as next friend ("Sanchez Gonzalez") bring this action challenging the policies and practices related to immigrant detainees held at the Federal Detention Center in Sheridan, Oregon ("FDC Sheridan"). Defendants are officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP"), and the U.S. Department of Justice. Plaintiffs seek a temporary restraining order ("TRO") requiring Defendants to, among other things: (1) provide adequate attorney visitation and telephone access for immigrant detainees at FDC Sheridan; (2) permit Law Lab to conduct "know your rights" ("KYR") training for detainees; and (3) bar Defendants from proceeding with detainees' interviews, cases, or deportations until after the detainees have had a full and fair an opportunity meaningfully to consult with an attorney and attend KYR training *1156conducted by Law Lab. On June 25, 2018, the Court held a hearing on Plaintiffs' motion. Plaintiffs' motion for TRO is granted.

STANDARDS

In deciding whether to grant a motion for TRO, courts look to substantially the same factors that apply to a court's decision on whether to issue a preliminary injunction. See Stuhlbarg Int'l Sales Co. v. John D. Brush & Co. , 240 F.3d 832, 839 n.7 (9th Cir. 2001). A preliminary injunction is an "extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief." Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council , 555 U.S. 7, 22, 129 S.Ct. 365, 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008). A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction generally must show that: (1) the plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) the plaintiff is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; (3) the balance of equities tips in favor of the plaintiff; and (4) an injunction is in the public interest. Winter , 555 U.S. at 20, 129 S.Ct. 365 (rejecting the Ninth Circuit's earlier rule that the mere "possibility" of irreparable harm, as opposed to its likelihood, was sufficient, in some circumstances, to justify a preliminary injunction).

The Supreme Court's decision in Winter , however, did not disturb the Ninth Circuit's alternative "serious questions" test. Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Cottrell , 632 F.3d 1127, 1131-32 (9th Cir. 2011). Under this test, " 'serious questions going to the merits' and a hardship balance that tips sharply toward the plaintiff can support issuance of an injunction, assuming the other two elements of the Winter test are also met." Id. at 1132. Thus, a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction may be granted "if there is a likelihood of irreparable injury to plaintiff; there are serious questions going to the merits; the balance of hardships tips sharply in favor of the plaintiff; and the injunction is in the public interest." M.R. v. Dreyfus , 697 F.3d 706, 725 (9th Cir. 2012) (citing Cottrell ).

A temporary restraining order is necessarily of a shorter and more limited duration than a preliminary injunction.1 Thus, the application of the relevant factors may differ, depending on whether the court is considering a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction.2 Indeed, the two factors most likely to be affected by whether the motion at issue is for a TRO or a preliminary injunction are the "balancing of the equities among the parties" and "the public interest."

Finally, the already high standard for granting a TRO or preliminary injunction is further heightened when the type of injunction sought is a "mandatory injunction."

*1157Garcia v. Google, Inc. , 786 F.3d 733, 740 (9th Cir. 2015) (noting that the burden is "doubly demanding" for a mandatory injunction). To obtain a mandatory injunction, a plaintiff must "establish that the law and facts clearly favor her position, not simply that she is likely to succeed." Id. (emphasis in original). As explained by the Ninth Circuit:

A preliminary injunction can take two forms. A prohibitory injunction prohibits a party from taking action and "preserve[s] the status quo pending a determination of the action on the merits." Chalk v. U.S. Dist. Court , 840 F.2d 701, 704 (9th Cir. 1988) ; see also Heckler v. Lopez , 463 U.S. 1328

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
310 F. Supp. 3d 1150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/innovation-law-lab-v-nielsen-ord-2018.