(Hartford, CT, February 27, 2015 )--Day Pitney recently secured a victory from the Second Circuit in a case that represents both a significant win for pro bono client Edson Flores and a significant precedent for immigrants seeking relief from removal orders.
Mr. Flores, who proceeded pro se in his initial removal proceedings, was originally ordered removed from the United States in 2012. At that time, Flores' wife, a U.S. citizen, had filed a visa petition on Mr. Flores' behalf with the Department of Homeland Security. If granted, that petition would have allowed Mr. Flores to apply for permanent residency in the United States. So Flores asked an immigration judge to grant a continuance of his removal proceedings pending a decision on his wife's visa petition. The immigration judge denied the requested continuance, however, and the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. According to the Board, Mr. Flores' requested continuance was futile because, even with a visa, his prior New York state criminal conviction for sexual contact constituted an aggravated felony, which rendered him ineligible for permanent residency.
Mr. Flores petitioned for review of that decision, and the Second Circuit appointed Day Pitney to represent him.
Accepting Day Pitney's arguments, the Second Circuit held, in a precedential opinion by Judge Chin, that the agency's denial of the continuance was based on two separate legal errors. For one thing, the Board had wrongly concluded that an aggravated-felony conviction would render Flores ineligible to become a permanent resident. For another, the Board had applied the wrong legal test in making its aggravated-felony determination--it looked to the particular facts of Flores' case, instead of considering whether the New York statute at issue categorically qualified as an aggravated felony in all of its applications. As a result of these errors, the Court granted Flores' petition in substantial part, and it remanded the case back to the Board.
Litigation counsel John Cerreta led the Day Pitney team, with support and supervision from litigation partner Erick Sandler.
DownloadDay Pitney Litigation Partner John Cerreta secured a dismissal for a product labeling dispute for Stanley Black & Decker Inc., doing business as Craftsman, with a federal judge in Bridgeport, CT.
Day Pitney Attorney Stanley Twardy's selection as the recipient of the 2023 Richard Law Award by the judges of the District of Connecticut was featured in the Fairfield County Business Journal article, "Stamford Lawyer Receives Prestigious Award for Service to the Federal Court."
Day Pitney Attorney Stanley Twardy's selection as the recipient of the 2023 Richard Law Award by the judges of the District of Connecticut was featured in Law360 Pulse article, "Conn. Federal Court Shines Light On Day Pitney Atty's Service."
Day Pitney Attorney Stanley Twardy's selection as the recipient of the 2023 Richard Law Award by the judges of the District of Connecticut was featured in the Connecticut Law Tribune article, "Connecticut Movers: Award for Twardy."
Day Pitney Press Release
Day Pitney Partner and General Counsel Elizabeth J. Sher is pleased to announce the publication of the 2023 edition of New Jersey Federal Civil Procedure (New Jersey Law Journal Books), a leading treatise on federal practice in New Jersey.
Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers (ret.) was a guest on M.C. Sungaila's The Portia Project Podcast, where Justice Rogers discussed everything from why she decided to go into law to her path to the bench.
Day Pitney Alert
On April 8, the firm obtained an appellate victory on behalf of The Hartford.
Day Pitney Partners William J. Roberts and Christopher F. Droney were both selected as recipients of the Distinguished Leaders Award in the 2022 Connecticut Legal Awards, sponsored by the Connecticut Law Tribune.