Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_08-cv-01929/USCOURTS-cand-4_08-cv-01929-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 465
Nature of Suit: Other Immigration Actions
Cause of Action: 28:2201 Declaratory Judgement

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

MARTIN RESENDEZ GUAJARDO,

Plaintiff, No. C 08-1929 PJH

v. ORDER DENYING APPLICATION FOR

TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER;

MICHAEL B. MUKASEY, United States ORDER SETTING HEARING DATE FOR

Attorney General, et al., MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY 

INJUNCTION

Defendants.

_______________________________/

Plaintiff Martin Resendez Guajardo filed this action on April 11, 2008, seeking

injunctive and declaratory relief. He also filed an application for a temporary restraining

order and a request for an order to show cause re preliminary injunction. 

Plaintiff is an attorney who is currently an active member of the State Bar of

California. He was admitted to the Bar of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1983, but

resigned on June 26, 2007, with charges pending against him. On November 1, 2007, the

Ninth Circuit issued an order accepting plaintiff’s resignation, and also noting that plaintiff

had admitted violations of the court’s rules and orders. 

On February 14, 2008, the Office of General Counsel for the Executive Office for

Immigration Review petitioned for plaintiff’s immediate suspension from practice before the

Board of Immigration Appeals and the Immigration Courts. On February 20, 2008, the

Department of Homeland Security asked that plaintiff be similarly suspended from practice

before that agency. 

On March 5, 2008, the Board of Immigration Appeals granted the petitions, and

ordered that plaintiff be suspended pending final disposition of disciplinary proceedings. 

Case 4:08-cv-01929-PJH Document 7 Filed 04/11/08 Page 1 of 2
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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Plaintiff requested reconsideration, and on March 26, 2008, the Board denied the request. 

Plaintiff now seeks a temporary restraining order enjoining the defendants from

enforcing the March 5, 2008, order, and reversing the March 26, 2008, order denying the

request to set aside the immediate suspension. 

A temporary restraining order is a form of preliminary injunctive relief. Its sole

purpose is to preserve the status quo pending hearing on the moving party’s application for

a preliminary injunction. Granny Goose Foods, Inc. v. Bhd. of Teamsters & Auto Truck

Drivers, 415 U.S. 423, 439 (1974). “Status quo” means the last uncontested status that

preceded the pending controversy. GoTo.com, Inc. v. Walt Disney Co., 202 F.3d 1199,

1210 (9th Cir. 2000). 

In this case, plaintiff is not seeking to preserve the status quo pending a

determination on the merits. Rather, plaintiff is seeking a mandatory injunction that would

alter the status quo by commanding the BIA to reverse its suspension order. In other

words, he seeks an order granting the ultimate relief he seeks in this action. The court is

not persuaded by the arguments plaintiff makes in support of his TRO application, as there

is no status quo to preserve pending the court’s ruling on the motion for preliminary

injunction. Accordingly, the application is DENIED.

The court will consider the request for an order to show cause re preliminary

injunction to be a motion for preliminary injunction, which the court will set for hearing on

the usual 35-day motions hearing schedule. The court will hear the motion on Wednesday,

May 21, 2008, at 9:00 a.m., in Courtroom 3 of the Federal Building, 450 Golden Gate, San

Francisco, California. The opposition shall be filed no later than April 30, 2008, and the

reply shall be filed no later than May 7, 2008. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: April 11, 2008 ______________________________

PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON

United States District Judge

Case 4:08-cv-01929-PJH Document 7 Filed 04/11/08 Page 2 of 2