Post-Preap Habeas Victory in California: Perera v. Jennings

Judah Lakin reports: "We (Lakin & Wille and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus) wanted to share some good news heading into the weekend. Judge Freeman issued a decision in our post-Preap as-applied challenge to 1226c for someone who was picked up by ICE 6 years after being released from federal criminal custody. She had issued a TRO initially (which we shared back in June of last year), granting our client a bond hearing, and now she has doubled down, issuing a permanent injunction, enjoining the government from arresting our client pursuant to 1226c based on convictions that pre-date the order, and not providing a bond hearing with 7 days. As a reminder, when we filed, our client was not detained for a prolonged period, so this was not a prolonged detention habeas. As to the burden at any future bond hearing, Judge Freeman likewise agreed that if there were a future bond hearing, the government would need to bear the burden by clear and convincing evidence, solidifying that this is a growing consensus among district court judges and building on the work of many of you on this list! It’s a pretty good read, both humanizing our client, and taking the government to task on several things. Hope everyone is doing well and a huge shout to Jenny Zhao who argued the habeas in front of Judge Freeman."

[Hats off to Jenny Zhao, Judah Lakin and Amalia Wille!]