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Cites NIJC Amicus Argument Emphasizing Importance of Access to Counsel
 
Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) applauds today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Mellouli v. Lynch, which maintained important protections for immigrants facing deportation following minor convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia.
 
Moones Mellouli, a lawful permanent resident, challenged an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) which found him removable for a July 2010 conviction for possessing a sock used to hide four tablets of Adderall. His offense violated the Kansas drug paraphernalia statute, and resulted in a small fine. The BIA ordered deportation, reasoning that paraphernalia offenses relate to “the drug trade” in general, making it unnecessary for the government to prove that the offense involved any federal controlled substance.
 
The Supreme Court disagreed, reaffirming the categorical approach for determining criminal removability and criticizing the Board’s illogical approach, which treated paraphernalia possession as more serious than the possession of the drugs themselves.
 
“As our nation’s criminal justice system is recognizing the need to reduce overly harsh penalties and restore fairness for those accused of drug offenses, we applaud the Supreme Court for ensuring that fairness extends to immigrants,” said NIJC Director of Litigation Charles Roth.
 
The Court cited an amicus brief filed by NIJC and the American Immigration Lawyers Association which noted that many states do not criminalize the conduct for which Mr. Mellouli was convicted, and that states (like Kansas) which do criminalize it punish it only with small fines. Indeed, the punishments are so minor that they often do not trigger a constitutional right to appointed counsel. The Court’s ruling emphasizes the importance of counsel for noncitizens during criminal proceedings as well as during their resulting immigration proceedings.
 
McDermott Will & Emery served as pro bono counsel for NIJC and AILA on the amicus brief. "We were honored to work on this important brief with NIJC and AILA, and are of course very pleased with the result in Mr. Mellouli's case," said Jon Dean, a partner in McDermott's Los Angeles office.