Links of Interest
Judicial Elections and Judiciary Reform:
- Last month, the Oklahoma Judicial Ethics Advisory Panel issued an opinion with guidelines on judges and the use of social media.
Immigration Court Reform:
- On August 17, in Chicago, the Department of Homeland Security held a public hearing on its controversial “Secure Communities” program. Undocumented youth led protests and several protestors were arrested. DHS has held similar hearings in other cities, garnering protests in Los Angeles and Arlington, Virginia
- In May, Governor Quinn opted out of the “Secure Communities” program on behalf of the state of Illinois. On August 5, ICE Director John Morton announced that the assent of states and municipalities was not legal required to implement the program, which is expected to be in force in every state by the end of 2011 and to be implemented in 3,100 state and local jails across the country by 2013.
- James Warren at the Chicago News Coop takes note of the tensions in the courts arising from a sharp increase in immigration court caseloads. Warren refers to the case of Stanojkova v Holder, which reversed the agency holding that petitions had not suffered past persecution, noting uneven application of standards to determine what does or does not amount to persecution.