Suzanimal
05-20-2016, 04:28 PM
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Texas on Thursday excoriated the Justice Department, demanding ethics classes for the department’s lawyers and ordering other sanctions for those who argued the case involving President Obama’s immigration executive actions.
He also ordered the government to produce a list of about 100,000 immigrants who entered illegally and who are participating in a government program that protects them from deportation.
In a blistering order, Judge Andrew S. Hanen of Federal District Court in Brownsville accused the Justice Department lawyers of lying to him during arguments in the case, and he barred them from appearing in his courtroom.
He also demanded that Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch provide a “comprehensive plan” within 60 days describing how she will prevent unethical conduct in the future, as well as making sure the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility effectively prevents misconduct among its lawyers.
He also said that any Justice Department lawyer who wants to appear in a state or federal court in any of the 26 states who filed suit to block Mr. Obama’s executive actions should be required to take an annual three-hour ethics course for the next five years.
“Clearly, there seems to be a lack of knowledge about or adherence to the duties of professional responsibility in the halls of the Justice Department,” Judge Hanen wrote in the 28-page order.
A spokesman for the Justice Department said Thursday that “we strongly disagree with the order” but declined to comment further.
Judge Hanen is at the center of the bitter legal fight over the fate of the immigration executive actions Mr. Obama announced at the end of 2014. Texas and 25 other states sued the president, objecting to his efforts to prevent millions of illegal immigrants from being deported and allow them to work in the country legally.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/us/andrew-hanen-immigration-texas-court.html?_r=1
He also ordered the government to produce a list of about 100,000 immigrants who entered illegally and who are participating in a government program that protects them from deportation.
In a blistering order, Judge Andrew S. Hanen of Federal District Court in Brownsville accused the Justice Department lawyers of lying to him during arguments in the case, and he barred them from appearing in his courtroom.
He also demanded that Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch provide a “comprehensive plan” within 60 days describing how she will prevent unethical conduct in the future, as well as making sure the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility effectively prevents misconduct among its lawyers.
He also said that any Justice Department lawyer who wants to appear in a state or federal court in any of the 26 states who filed suit to block Mr. Obama’s executive actions should be required to take an annual three-hour ethics course for the next five years.
“Clearly, there seems to be a lack of knowledge about or adherence to the duties of professional responsibility in the halls of the Justice Department,” Judge Hanen wrote in the 28-page order.
A spokesman for the Justice Department said Thursday that “we strongly disagree with the order” but declined to comment further.
Judge Hanen is at the center of the bitter legal fight over the fate of the immigration executive actions Mr. Obama announced at the end of 2014. Texas and 25 other states sued the president, objecting to his efforts to prevent millions of illegal immigrants from being deported and allow them to work in the country legally.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/us/andrew-hanen-immigration-texas-court.html?_r=1