Appellate Court Rules Lawsuit Challenging Houston’s Illegal Alien Sanctuary Policy Will Continue
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Washington, DC -- September 13, 2011

Appellate Court Reverses Decision by District Court Dismissing Judicial Watch Lawsuit Filed by Houston Police Sgt. Joslyn Johnson, Widow of Police Officer Murdered by Illegal Alien

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled in favor of Judicial Watch client Houston police sergeant Joslyn M. Johnson, the widow of a fellow police officer murdered by an illegal alien. The three-judge panel reversed a decision by the district court. Sgt. Johnson’s lawsuit against the City of Houston’s illegal sanctuary policy will now continue (Johnson v. City of Houston (No. 10-207343)).

As noted by the appellate court, under The Houston Police Department’s (HPD) illegal alien sanctuary policy “HPD officers are forbidden from notifying federal authorities that they have encountered a known illegal alien unless they arrest that person on a ‘separate criminal charge (other than a class C misdemeanor).’â€