Metropolitan News-Enterprise



Monday, July 21, 2008




Court Overturns Asylum Denial to Woman Claiming Torture

Judges Fire Back at IJ Who Accused Court of Ignoring Credibility Standard



By STEVEN M. ELLIS, Staff Writer



The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the conclusion of an immigration judge—who openly accused the court of failing to follow U.S. Supreme Court precedent—that an Ethiopian woman seeking asylum who alleged torture by her government lacked credibility.

Ruling that the determination was not supported by substantial evidence, and pointing to statistics refuting the judge’s claims that the Ninth Circuit rarely affirmed such determinations, the court remanded Etagegn Haile Tekle’s petition for relief to the Board of Immigration Appeals to review whether she was eligible for asylum or other relief.

The court also suggested, to the extent further factual findings might necessitate a similar remand by the BIA, that a different immigration judge be assigned, noting that the judge had warned that he would recuse himself if the matter were remanded “for any reasonâ€