A federal judge in Guam has rejected the Trump administration’s effort to punish an immigration attorney who accused him of filing a meritless lawsuit that briefly delayed the deportation of a Laotian immigrant from the U.S. to Laos.
The Justice Department argued that California lawyer Joshua Schroeder made “intentional or reckless misrepresentations” and presented “frivolous arguments” in three separate federal courts in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to block the deportation of his client Vang Lor, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder in California in 1998 and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The legal maneuver resulted in immigration officials having to remove Lore from a plane in Guam as he was en route to Laos. He spent about two weeks in jail there, until the courts cleared the way for his deportation and new flights were arranged.
but in a ruling mondayU.S. District Court Judge Frances Tydingko-Gatewood rejected the Justice Department’s request to punish Schroeder by imposing a “substantial” monetary fine and through other steps. DOJ launches its own effort to ban Schroeder in response President Donald Trump issued an executive order Last year “lawyers and law firms were targeted who engaged in frivolous, unfair, and vexatious litigation against the United States.”
The judge said Schroeder’s arguments did not go far enough, but were not so outlandish that they should be banned.
President George W. Tydingko-Gatewood, a Bush appointee, wrote, “His legal argument failed, but he argued in good faith what the law should be, and that it is not a criminal offense.” “The Court does not consider Mr. Schroeder’s arguments to be completely without foundation or that he did not conduct a competent investigation. Counsel relied on circumstantial evidence and his professional experience to argue passionately on his client’s behalf as he hoped to preserve his client’s right to due process of law.”
The judge also said Schroeder had some basis for suspecting that officials were not deporting Lore to Laos, because the country has historically opposed taking people deported from the US.
Starting last May, Schroeder filed two lawsuits to block Lore’s deportation, warning that his client could be unlawfully deported under the Alien Enemies Act, a two-century-old law that the Trump administration used to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador. But Tydingco-Gatewood ultimately ruled that she did not have jurisdiction to intervene because Lore was being deported. under a different law.
DOJ spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.
Schroeder welcomed the decision.
“Today, the District Court of Guam acknowledged that I was successful in my duty to fight vigorously for my clients,” Schroeder said in a statement. “I am relieved that Chief Justice Tydingco-Gatewood’s order clearly states that my arguments were not frivolous and were made in good faith. It is the ethical responsibility of every lawyer to fight vigorously for their clients, even when the case is difficult and the chances of relief seem slim.”
Just last week, the DOJ filed a proposal The sanctions were sought in connection with an unsuccessful appeal filed by Schroeder on Lore’s behalf with the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. DOJ lawyers are asking the appeals court to order Schroeder to pay about $6,000 to cover the cost of the government attorney’s time spent on the appeal.
While the initial motion against Schroeder was the first widely publicized instance of the Justice Department citing Trump’s executive order while seeking disciplinary sanctions, Trump has accused various law firms and lawyers of acting unethically and has sought to punish them by debarring them from doing business with the federal government, denying them access to federal buildings including courthouses, and revoking security clearances.
Some companies reached controversial deals with the administration. Four major law firms sued and won court orders voiding most of Trump’s directives against them. The Justice Department is appealing those decisions.
