Thursday, May 31, 2007

Garcia-Jimenez v. Gonzales (9th Cir. - May 30, 2007)

Unusual.

Judge Silverman authors an opinion on January 3, 2007 that's (allegedly) so simple that it doesn't even require oral argument, and that unanimously upholds the deportation of Garcia-Jimenez.

Nothing strange there. Happens every day.

Garcia-Jimenez petitions for rehearing (and en banc review). No one calls for an en banc vote. Par for the course on both counts.

But Judge Pregerson, who originally joined the panel opinion, now changes his mind and dissents. And his dissent appears to be based on the exact same arguments that Garcia-Jimenez made in his original briefs, and that the panel (including Judge Pregerson) originally rejected.

There's no explanation in the dissent -- or at least nothing that I recall -- as to why exactly Judge Pregerson changed his mind. Or exactly what went down here that resulted in Judge Pregerson's dissent from an opinion with which he originally (at least apparently) agreed.

Strange.