Opinion ID: 1270113
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Application of Lozada's Procedural Requirements to Rranci's Claim

Text: Our Court has essentially adopted the procedural requirements that the BIA developed for ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims. Id. To proceed with such a claim, the allegedly aggrieved person must (1) provide an affidavit attesting to the relevant facts, (2) inform former counsel of the allegations and allow him an opportunity to respond, and (3) if it is asserted that prior counsel's handling of the case involved a violation of ethical or legal responsibilities, the motion should reflect whether a complaint has been filed with appropriate disciplinary authorities regarding such representation, and if not, why not. In re Lozada, 19 I. & N. Dec. 637, 639 (BIA 1988). Rranci's motion to reopen easily met the first prong by including the sworn affidavit dated October 31, 2005. Though most of the affidavit focuses on the merits of his asylum claim, the final two paragraphs explain the circumstances of Rranci's acceptance of voluntary departure. The B IA did not mention the first prong, suggesting that it found this requirement to be met as well. Most of the dispute between the parties focuses on Lozada 's second prong. In an attempt to satisfy this requirement, Rranci submitted with his motion to reopen a second affidavit, this time from his current counsel, Rex Chen. In this statement, Chen attested to a conversation he had with Carabello regarding the latter's representation of Rranci at the IJ hearing. Chen informed Carabello that Rranci was considering a motion to reopen the case to pursue relief under the state created danger doctrine. Chen explained the nature of that doctrine and also relayed Rranci's allegation of intimidation just before entering his hearing before the IJ. In response, according to Chen's affidavit, Carabello stated that he felt it was in Rranci's best interest to accept voluntary departure, denied that he told Rranci he would be imprisoned or detained if Rranci did not depart voluntarily, and conceded that he was unaware of the state-created danger doctrine. The BIA affirmed the IJ's ruling that Rranci failed to satisfy the second prong of Lozada, holding that Chen's affidavit failed to establish that Carabello was aware of any allegations of ineffective assistance. It also stated that no evidence was presented regarding Carabello's opportunity to respond to any such allegations. We disagree. We have previously warned of the inherent dangers ... in applying a strict, formulaic interpretation of Lozada.  Xu Yong Lu v. Ashcroft, 259 F.3d 127, 133 (3d Cir.2001). Lozada serve[s] as a threshold and a screening mechanism to help the agency assess the substantial number of ineffective assistance claims that it receives. Fadiga, 488 F.3d at 155 (internal quotation marks omitted). But it does not specify in detail what constitutes an opportunity for prior counsel to respond. [B]efore allegations of ineffective assistance of former counsel are presented to the [BIA], former counsel must be informed of the allegations and allowed the opportunity to respond. Any subsequent response from counsel, or report of counsel's failure or refusal to respond, should be submitted with the motion. 19 I. & N. Dec. at 639. Chen's affidavit satisfied this requirement. It provides evidence that Chen informed Carabello that Rranci was considering a motion to reopen the case and described both arguments pursued before the IJ, the BIA, and our Court. We have no evidence that Chen used the specific words ineffective assistance of counsel. But he informed Carabello of Rranci's allegation of intimidation, which gave Carabello notice of the substance of Rranci's support for a motion to reopen. The affidavit reflects that Rranci's prior and current counsel discussed their conflicting views of the merits of Rranci's asylum application and the relevant legal theories. In this context, Carabello received adequate notice that Rranci was contemplating an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim. We also conclude that Rranci provided Carabello with an opportunity to respond and submitted his response with the motion. Specifically, Chen's sworn affidavit contains his firsthand account of Carabello's responsethat he did not know of the state-created danger doctrine and continued to believe that accepting voluntary departure was the appropriate legal strategy. We acknowledge the BIA's concern that Carabello did not have an opportunity to respond, since he did not provide his own written rebuttal. We agree that a separate response would be ideal. Yet because Chen's affidavit made the BIA aware of the substance of Carabello's response, and our Court has cautioned against a strict ... interpretation of Lozada,  Xu Yong Lu, 259 F.3d at 133, we hold that Rranci satisfied Lozada 's second prong in this instance. Rranci concedes that he failed to file a bar complaint. Thus, to satisfy Lozada 's third prong, he must explain why he did not pursue disciplinary action against Carabello. 19 I. & N. Dec. at 639. In his motion to reopen, Rranci cited both his lack of English-language skills and time pressure. This excuse is off point, since the filing of a disciplinary action would be an appropriate task for his new counsel, rather than the petitioner himself. Thus, Rranci's difficulty with English and legal standards is irrelevant to the third prong of Lozada. Rranci has not provided adequate evidence of his diligence in investigating whether disciplinary action would have been appropriate. See Zheng, 422 F.3d at 106. Such diligence, and providing evidence of it to satisfy Lozada 's third prong, would have been preferable. Despite the lack of a compelling excuse for not pursuing disciplinary action against his prior counsel, we still consider Rranci to have satisfied the necessary procedural requirements. Where a petitioner succeeds on the first two prongs of Lozada but does not file a disciplinary complaint or provide an explanation, we have held that the third prong does not necessarily sink a petitioner's ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim. As we explained in Fadiga, as long as the policy concerns on which the third prong is based have been served, the complaint requirement may be excused. See 488 F.3d at 156-57. In that case, we held that Lozada did not bar a petitioner's claim even though the petitioner neither filed a disciplinary complaint nor explained his failure to do so. Id. at 156 (internal quotation marks omitted). In our case, we are satisfied that the policies underlying Lozada 's third prong have been met. These policies include: (1) identifying, policing, and correcting misconduct in the immigration bar; (2) deterring meritless claims of ineffective assistance of counsel; (3) highlighting the expected standards of lawyering for immigration attorneys; (4) reducing the need for an evidentiary hearing; and (5) avoiding collusion between counsel and alien clients. See id. We consider these policies in turn. Rranci submitted enough in his motion to reopen to help his prior counsel avoid the same mistakes in the future. Although an argument based on the state-created danger exception ultimately would have proven fruitless (because we decided Kamara three weeks after Rranci's initial IJ hearing), Carabello failed to pursue any legal argument based on Rranci having served as a witness against a prominent, dangerous criminal. For instance, he failed to mention a relevant treaty, the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. See infra Part V. [5] Awareness of legal doctrines that could provide protection for a Government witness like Rranci might have altered Carabello's strategic decision to recommend voluntary departure. Carabello's phone conversation with Chen made him aware of the shortcomings of his representation by informing him that legal doctrines arguably protecting witnesses do exist. If presented with a similar case in the future, Carabello now has information that will help him to do better. In this context, filing a formal disciplinary proceeding against Carabello is not necessary to advance the policy goal of identifying, policing, and correcting misconduct. The other policies behind Lozada 's third prong have been served here as well. Because of the possibly significant errors Carabello made, see infra Section IV.B, we cannot conclude in this particular case that Rranci's claim of ineffective assistance is meritless. The phone conversation between Carabello and Chen has highlighted the need for immigration lawyers to perform research tailored to each client and to keep up with new developments in this fast-changing area of law. That same conversation provides evidence of a key source of the alleged ineffectiveness  Carabello's lack of awareness of legal doctrines that potentially protect witnesses. That evidence reduces the need for an evidentiary hearing about Carabello's representation of Rranci. Finally, there is no suggestion of collusion between Carabello and Rranci. In sum, although he fell short of the ideal, Rranci has sufficiently addressed the procedural requirements of Lozada to proceed with his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim.