Opinion ID: 2612
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Vague Testimony

Text: The IJ concluded that Li's persecution claim was not credible, in part, because her testimony was extremely vague and general. In re Shunfu Li, No. A95 462 260, at 7-8. As noted in our discussion of the facts of the case, this vagueness characterization is not without some support in the record. A fact finder may understandably find detailed testimony more convincing than vague testimony. See Jin Shui Qiu v. Ashcroft, 329 F.3d 140, 152 (2d Cir.2003) (acknowledging that IJ may fairly wonder whether [very spare testimony] is fabricated), overruled on other grounds by Shi Liang Lin v. United States Dep't of Justice, 494 F.3d at 305; see also Zhou Yun Zhang v. INS, 386 F.3d at 79 n. 11. Nevertheless, the law in this circuit holds that, in a proceeding wherein an alien seeks relief from removal, a finding of testimonial vagueness cannot, without more, support an adverse credibility determination unless government counsel or the IJ first attempts to solicit more detail from the alien. See Ming Shi Xue v. BIA, 439 F.3d at 122-23; Jin Chen v. United States Dep't of Justice, 426 F.3d at 114. In other circumstances, our credibility review is much more deferential. See, e.g., United States v. Jacobo, 934 F.2d 411, 418 (2d Cir.1991) (noting that, when confronted with vague trial testimony, sentencing court was free to draw whatever inference seem[ed] appropriate to it, or to have [the] witness recalled in order to clarify his testimony); United States v. Hernandez, 588 F.2d 346, 349 n. 2 (2d Cir.1978) (upholding instruction to jury that, when evaluating credibility of witnesses whose testimony was, inter alia, vague, jurors (who lack power to question witnesses) must exercise their own judgment [and] give the testimony of each witness such credibility, if any, that [they] may think it deserves); see also United States v. Castelli, 306 F.2d 640, 641 (2d Cir.1962) (holding that district court was free to reject Sixth Amendment challenge to conviction supporting deportation where alien offered only vague in the extreme testimony that he was deprived of counsel); see generally NLRB v. Dinion Coil Co., 201 F.2d 484, 488-89 (2d Cir.1952) (observing that methods of evaluating the credibility of oral testimony do not lend themselves to formulations in terms of rules). Our approach to review of credibility determinations is generally guided by the characteristics of the particular context in which those determinations were made. In the context of removal proceedings, we have concluded that requiring IJs to solicit additional details from witnesses before rejecting their testimony as incredible on vagueness grounds serves a useful prophylactic purpose by protecting against arbitrary differences  actual or perceived  in the detail required by different IJs who hear thousands of applications for relief, many premised on what appear to be similar factual scenarios. See generally Ming Shi Xue v. BIA, 439 F.3d at 124 (describing rule as having a logical basis in the particular relationship between decisions of the immigration judges and the appellate courts called on to review these decisions). In other administrative law contexts, such as Social Security disability cases, the agency's own regulations require administrative law judges affirmatively to assist claimants in developing the record, and our review correspondingly extends to the question of whether the judge satisfied his duty to develop the record in each case. Perez v. Chater, 77 F.3d 41, 47 (2d Cir.1996); see 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1512(d), (e). [5] Because this vagueness rule was announced only after the IJ's challenged finding in this case, it is not surprising that the IJ did not solicit more detail from Li with respect to vague aspects of her testimony. In the absence of such an attempt, however, we conclude that it was error to rely on vagueness in making the challenged adverse credibility finding. See Gelman v. Ashcroft, 298 F.3d 150, 152 n. 1 (2d Cir.2002) (noting that remand for reconsideration in light of case law decided while case was on appeal is routine procedure for addressing an issue that has not received consideration by the initial decision-maker, whether it is a district court or an administrative agency like the BIA); United States v. Kostakis, 364 F.3d 45, 51 (2d Cir.2004) (noting that unless Ex Post Facto Clause is implicated, appellate court applies law in effect at time of appeal).