Sotomayor, Gorsuch condemn immigrant’s prosecution, citing ‘constitutional absurdity’
The justices said the government’s theory could allow repeated charges for a single continuous presence in the country, raising broad Fifth Amendment concerns.
- On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Jesus Herrera-Salazar, though Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a statement denouncing "constitutional absurdity" in the government's prosecution.
- Herrera-Salazar was convicted in 2020 for being "found in" the United States after a prior removal, then arrested again in Oklahoma while serving supervised release that legally barred him from leaving the district.
- Sotomayor and Gorsuch argued the second prosecution created a "Hobson's choice," where the government punished him for being in the country while simultaneously ordering him to remain in Oklahoma, violating Fifth Amendment double jeopardy protections.
- While the justices concurred with denying review because Herrera-Salazar has already been removed from the country, they urged lower courts to "avoid the constitutional absurdity" of such prosecutions in future cases.
- The justices warned that treating continuous presence as separate offenses could allow "potentially limitless" charges, addressing "serious constitutional problems" in federal immigration prosecutions that demand constitutional recalibration.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Sotomayor, Gorsuch Blast Immigrant Case as ‘Constitutional Absurdity’
Internewscast Internewscast Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch united… This Post: Sotomayor, Gorsuch Blast Immigrant Case as ‘Constitutional Absurdity’ first appeared on Internewscast
APPROVED — Big Supreme Court Ruling Just 20 Days Before Midterms
Two Supreme Court justices from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum joined Tuesday in criticizing the federal government’s prosecution of a Mexican national, raising concerns that authorities violated constitutional protections against prosecuting someone twice for the same offense. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, appointed by former President Barack Obama, and Justice Neil Gorsuch, appointed by President Donald Trump, questioned the government’s…
Sotomayor and Gorsuch join to condemn double jeopardy in immigration case
Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch teamed up on Tuesday to criticize the “constitutional absurdity” of the prosecution of Jesus Herrera-Salazar, saying the Mexican national’s two arrests raise questions about double jeopardy. Sotomayor, a liberal, and Gorsuch, a conservative, released a joint statement with the high court’s decision not to hear Herrera-Salazar’s appeal after the federal government indicted him twice for alle…
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