Thread: CT:Judge Rules City Officials, ICE Must Give Depositions

Judge rules Danbury officials, ICE must give depositions
By Marietta Homayonpour
Staff Writer
Updated: 12/15/2008 05:57:16 PM EST

DANBURY - Ten plaintiffs won another round in a pending civil lawsuit against the city and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

A United States District Court judge ruled late last week that Danbury officials and federal agents must give depositions now in the lawsuit even though a ruling has not been made on an ICE motion to dismiss the case.

"It's great," Ari Holtzblatt, a Yale Law School student intern representing the 10 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said about the ruling by United States Magistrate Judge Donna Martinez. "Now for the first time people who planned this unconstitutional act are going to have to answer questions about it and do it under oath."

They also will have to present evidence in the case, Holtzblatt said.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was filed in September 2007, are nine men who are part of what is called the "Danbury 11" plus another man, Danilo Brito Vargas, who was stopped by Danbury police in a traffic incident in early 2007 and has since been deported for immigration violation.

The "Danbury 11" are men from Ecuador who were arrested in Danbury in September 2006 on immigration violations by ICE agents helped by Danbury police. Two of the men were deported and the other nine live and work in the Danbury area awaiting their appeal on a ruling by federal immigration Judge Michael Straus in February that they be deported.

In the civil lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege the city of Danbury was discriminatory in helping to arrest the men and that the actions were illegal because Danbury police are not deputized as federal agents.

Among the defendants named are Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, Police Chief Al Baker and several police officers.

The city, Boughton said, was not wrong in its actions in September 2006, pointing to the February deportation ruling. "The immigration judged ruled ICE and the city did not violate anybody's rights."

Boughton said he is not concerned about the deposition he will have to give in the lawsuit. "As far as being deposed, I have no problem with it. It's part of the process. I'm hoping to answer any questions they have."

Boughton also looks forward to the depositions of the plaintiffs. "We're very interested in placing the plaintiffs under oath so we can get their depositions."

A motion by ICE to dismiss the lawsuit against its agents is currently in front of Chief Judge Robert Chatigny.

On pending legal cases, ICE refers any comments to the U.S. Attorney's office. Tom Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said he could not comment on pending litigation or on the recent deposition ruling.

In her deposition ruling last week , Martinez points to the plaintiffs' concern about the time that has elapsed since the September 2006 arrests. "The plaintiffs also argue that they will be prejudiced by a stay because memories regarding the incident will fade."

The deposition decision by Martinez is the second time this year that plaintiffs won a ruling on their lawsuit.

In July, Martinez ruled against a move by defendants to disqualify the plaintiffs' lawyers because of a potential conflict. Boughton is part of the Connecticut Coalition for Justice and Education Funding, which is suing the state over educational funding and is represented by Yale Law School lawyers.

Holtzblatt, the lawyer for the defendants in the pending civil lawsuit, said he'll soon begin taking the depositions, which will take a number of months to complete. "We'll start the process right away."

Contact Marietta Homayonpour
at mhomayonpour@newstimes.com or
at (203) 731-3336.

http://www.newstimes.com/latestnews/ci_11238721

In the civil lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege the city of Danbury was discriminatory in helping to arrest the men and that the actions were illegal because Danbury police are not deputized as federal agents.

They were arrested by ICE agents, and they were illegal aliens, so what's the problem?

[quote\]Judge rules Danbury officials, ICE must give depositions

"It's great," Ari Holtzblatt, a Yale Law School student intern representing the 10 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said about the ruling by United States Magistrate Judge Donna Martinez. [/quote]

"Judge Donna Martinez". Sounds like a case of "The Race" sticking together, to heck with American law.