Opinion ID: 3030779
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Second Motion

Text: Simultaneously with filing her petition for review, Mohamed filed another motion, this time styling it as a motion to reopen. Again, she alleged that her prior counsel was ineffective in failing to raise the issue of female genital mutilation. She stated that her claim was based on past persecution and that she indeed had been mutilated as a child, and 4 In her petition, Mohamed also requested review of the BIA’s earlier decision to dismiss her appeal on the merits. By an earlier order, we limited review to the denial of the motion to reconsider and remand, because the direct appeal was untimely. We have previously held that where, due to counsel’s error, a petition for review is untimely, the error deprives the alien of the appellate proceeding entirely and prejudice is presumed. See Dearinger ex rel. Volkova v. Reno, 232 F.3d 1042, 1045 (9th Cir. 2000). However, Mohamed does not raise this potential claim of ineffective assistance in her current motion, perhaps because the late filing was the error of her current counsel. MOHAMMED v. GONZALES 3071 she explained that “the previous motion for reconsideration contained a scribner’s error.”5 Attached to the motion were the State Bar of California complaint form against the first counsel, first counsel’s letter, Mohamed’s declaration, the physician’s report, and a report on female genital mutilation from the World Health Organization. The BIA denied Mohamed’s second motion as numerically barred. Nevertheless, it turned to the substance of the motion and attempted to clarify its first opinion. It acknowledged its “typographical errors” and explained that Mohamed “did not demonstrate any prejudice resulting from her prior counsel’s representation such as would affect the outcome of her case and would amount to a due process violation.” Alternatively, the BIA considered the motion as a motion to reconsider and concluded that, “[t]o the extent that the current motion is subject to being construed as a motion to reconsider, we find that it must be denied because [Mohamed] has not demonstrated any substantive error in our [first] decision . . . .” Mohamed petitioned for review of the BIA’s decision denying her second motion. We granted her motion to consolidate review of the two orders denying her motions to reconsider and reopen. Two days before we heard oral argument, the government moved to remand the case so that the BIA could reconsider and clarify its decisions.6 5 Although Mohamed alleges ineffective assistance only against her prior counsel, her current counsel has made numerous mistakes in the motions filed before the BIA and in her petition before this court. In addition to the “scribner’s” mistake in the first motion, and the failure to file a timely appeal discussed in footnote 4 above, Mohamed’s current attorney has filed two separate corrections to her brief because of deficiencies. Furthermore, even after the corrections were made, it appears that she failed to attach what she refers to as “Exhibit A” — evidence of Mohamed’s request for a complete decision from the BIA on the first motion. 6 Specifically, the government sought remand for the BIA to consider: 3072 MOHAMMED v. GONZALES