Sarbjit Singh v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General

416 F.3d 1006
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJuly 29, 2005
Docket03-72494
StatusPublished
Cited by102 cases

This text of 416 F.3d 1006 (Sarbjit Singh v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sarbjit Singh v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General, 416 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2005).

Opinion

BYBEE, Circuit Judge.

This case presents yet another due process challenge to the Notice of Appeal and summary dismissal procedures employed by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). „

For more than thirty years, BIA regulations have authorized summary dismissal of appeals for which the petitioner fails to adequately specify the grounds for error. The regulations were later amended to also authorize summary dismissal where the petitioner indicates an intent to file a brief, but subsequently fails either to file the brief or explain his failure to do so. In this appeal, the petitioner claims that both regulations operated to violate his due process rights.

While we have in the past criticized the potential for confusion posed by the BIA’s strict specificity requirement, the amended regulation authorizing dismissal for failure to file a brief does not suffer from the same defects. Moreover, the actions of *1008 petitioner’s counsel in this case persuade us that, rather than a due process violation based on the BIA’s summary dismissal procedures, the petitioner has alleged a classic case of ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, we deny petitioner’s due process claim based on the summary dismissal, but remand to the BIA for further consideration of his due process ineffective assistance of counsel claim.

I. BACKGROUND

Sarbjit Singh, a native and citizen of India, was charged as removable on the ground that he had overstayed his visa. Singh retained attorney Samuel Maina and applied for asylum, withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture relief. Each of Singh’s claims were rejected after a hearing in which the immigration judge (“IJ”) found him not credible and ordered his removal.

With Maina’s assistance, Singh filed a Notice of Appeal with the BIA using form EOIR-26. In the section requesting the petitioner to “[sjtate in detail the reason(s) for [the] appeal,” Maina wrote the following: “IJ erred in finding respondent was not credible and failed to carry , his burden.” Immediately above Maina’s statement, the form contained the following conspicuous admonition: “WARNING: The failure to specify the factual or legal basis for the appeal may lead to summary dismissal without further notice unless you give specific details in a timely, separate written brief or statement filed with the board.” Maina checked the box on the form, termed “Item # 6,” indicating that he intended to file a separate written brief to comply with the regulation. Directly below this item, another conspicuous instruction read: ‘WARNING: Your appeal may be summarily dismissed if you indicate in Item # 6 that you will file a separate written brief or statement and, within the time set for filing, you fail to file the brief or statement and do not reasonably explain such failure.” Thereafter, by a separate mailing, the BIA instructed the petitioner that his brief would be due on or before April 16, 2001. Maina never filed a brief.

Amost a year after the briefing deadline passed, the BIA summarily dismissed Singh’s appeal pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 3.1(d)(2)© (2001). The BIA offered two grounds for its decision:

Pursuant to our regulations, an appeal may be dismissed where a party indicates “that he or she will file a brief or statement in support of the appeal and, thereafter, does not file such a brief or statement, or reasonably explain his or her failure to do so, within the time set for filing....” 8 C.F.R. § 3.1(d)(2)(i)(D) (2001). The Notice of Appeal explicitly warned the respondent of the regulation, and a briefing schedule indicating that the respondent’s brief was due on April 16, 2001, was mailed to the respondent. To date, the respondent has not submitted a brief or offered an explanation for the failure to do so. We thus find that summary dismissal is appropriate under 8 C.F.R. § 3.1(d)(2)(i)(D).
In addition, the respondent provided general statements alleging error, but did not specifically identify those errors. The Board may summarily dismiss an appeal when the appealing party fails to specify reasons for the appeal. See 8 C.F.R. § 3.1 (d)(2)(i)(A).

In re Sarbjit Singh, A77 827 217, at 1-2 (BIA, March 18, 2002) (citation and footnote omitted). In a footnote, the Board added: “We find that this case is distinguishable from Padilla-Agustin v. INS, 21 F.3d 970 (9th Cir.1994). In the instant case, the record reflects that the respondent was placed on notice that the appeal could be summarily dismissed for failure to timely submit a promised brief or state- *1009 mentId. at 1 & n. 1 (citing 8 C.F.R. § 3.1(d)(2)®(D)). 1

Approximately one year after the summary dismissal was issued, Singh retained new counsel and moved to reopen his proceedings, arguing that the summary dismissal violated his due process rights and that the 90 day deadline for filing a motion to reopen should be equitably tolled because of his former counsel’s ineffective assistance. 2 In a per curiam order, the Board rejected the motion as untimely filed without addressing the equitable tolling argument. Singh timely petitioned this court to review the BIA’s decision.

In the petition for review that we now consider, Singh reasserts the arguments raised in his motion to reopen; namely, that the BIA’s summary dismissal violated his due process rights and that his former counsel’s ineffective assistance rendered his motion to reopen subject to equitable tolling.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The regulation at issue here, 8 C.F.R. § 8.1(d)(2)© (2001), states that the BIA “may” summarily dismiss an appeal for failure to state specific reasons or file a promised brief. Consequently, the Board’s decision whether to dismiss is discretionary. Dismissal for failure to comply with this regulation is akin to dismissal in a civil case for failure to prosecute, which we review for abuse of discretion. See, e.g., Link v. Wabash R. Co., 370 U.S. 626, 633, 82 S.Ct. 1386, 8 L.Ed.2d 734 (1962) (“Whether such an order can stand on appeal depends not on power but on whether it was within the permissible range of the court’s discretion.”); Henderson v. Duncan, 779 F.2d 1421, 1423 (9th Cir.1986). Accordingly, ,we will not reverse a dismissal under 8 C.F.R. § 3.1(d)(2)® unless the Board has abused its discretion.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Sosa Morales v. Bondi
Ninth Circuit, 2025
Cabrera-Pineda v. Bondi
Ninth Circuit, 2025
Mayorga-Guzman v. Bondi
Ninth Circuit, 2025
Cordon Corado v. Bondi
Ninth Circuit, 2025
Stefan v. Garland
Ninth Circuit, 2024
Obeid v. Garland
Ninth Circuit, 2023
Belkis Nolasco-Amaya v. Merrick Garland
14 F.4th 1007 (Ninth Circuit, 2021)
Castillo-Ponce v. Attorney General of the United States
685 F. App'x 139 (Third Circuit, 2017)
Enkelejda Poci v. Jefferson Sessions
681 F. App'x 649 (Ninth Circuit, 2017)
Raymundo Perez Sanchez v. Loretta E. Lynch
667 F. App'x 652 (Ninth Circuit, 2016)
Xuezhi Jia v. Loretta E. Lynch
637 F. App'x 478 (Ninth Circuit, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
416 F.3d 1006, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sarbjit-singh-v-alberto-r-gonzales-attorney-general-ca9-2005.