Opinion ID: 787177
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Failure to attend the hearing

Text: 74 After two continuances, the IJ criticized counsel for taking West Coast asylum cases when she was unable to appear. After a continuance of several months, she reluctantly agreed to participate in the hearing by telephone after receiving a call from the IJ commanding her to do so. Lin claims that she was unable to participate fully in the hearing by telephone. The transcript of the hearing demonstrates that the courtroom was not well-equipped for a telephonic hearing, and that New York counsel could neither hear nor be heard clearly at numerous points. For example, counsel did not hear Lin's answer when she asked him what consequences he would face if he were returned to China. This is critical, given that the government argues that Lin may not raise on appeal the argument that he will be jailed for having fled the country in contravention of Chinese law. Further, counsel clearly had no opportunity to consult with Lin before the hearing, nor had she prepared for the hearing. The government argues that counsel's effectiveness was not vitiated by her appearance by telephone rather than in person. This may be true, but only in the damning sense that counsel was so unprepared to argue the case that it hardly mattered whether she was heard at all.