Court Opinion

ID: 9490528
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:45:53.188349+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:54:08.903222
License: Public Domain

SCHROEDER, Circuit Judge,
Concurring:
I agree that the writ of audita querela may not issue on solely equitable grounds, and I concur in Judge O’Scannlain’s opinion. I write separately to highlight the equities of the ease that have made this a difficult decision, and to elaborate on the position of the United States in this matter.
John Doe has gone beyond the cooperation required of him in his plea agreement and has continued to cooperate with the Drug Enforcement Administration in the investigation of numerous cocaine and heroin dealers. Mr. Doe’s assistance to the DEA has resulted in the arrests of several dealers, in whose prosecution Mr. Doe is expected to be a necessary witness, and in the seizures of multi-kilogram quantities of drugs and large amounts of U.S. currency. Both the DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have recommended that Mr. Doe be given favorable consideration by the INS and that he not be deported. In the words of the U.S. Attorneys Office, “this man has aligned himself with the United States government [in the war on drugs].” The DEA has indicated that because of Doe’s cooperation with the U.S. government, it is likely that he would be killed, tortured, or otherwise physically harmed if deported to his native country. The equities supporting granting him relief from possible deportation are compelling.
Although the federal courts lack authority to vacate Mr. Doe’s conviction on purely equitable grounds, the U.S. Attorney has recognized that there are other avenues by which the Executive Branch may permit Mr. Doe to remain in the United States. In its capacity representing the District Director of the INS, the Office of the U.S. Attorney has represented that in exercising the unreviewable discretion to decide whether to seek Mr. Doe’s removal, the District Director will give full consideration to the favorable recommendations made on Mr. Doe’s behalf by the DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in its prosecutorial capacity. Second, the DEA, through the U.S. Attorney has represented that if Mr. Doe were ordered removed and denied all other forms of available relief, the DEA would request that the Attorney General grant Doe an “S” Visa under 8 U.S.C. § 101(a)(15)(S)(i), which would permit Doe to remain for up to three years. See C.F.R. § 214.2(t)(5)(ii) (1997). Finally, the DEA has indicated it will cooperate with any request Doe may make for a Presidential pardon, and would provide executive officials evidence that witnesses who cooperate with the DEA and are subsequently returned to Doe’s native country are frequently harmed or tortured, often at the hands of or with the acquiescence of government officials.