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Victory In Seventh Circuit Appeal
| Article - Pro Bono, Worldwide
| 13 March 2008
On March 13, 2008, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of our pro bono client, Mr. Arturo Escobar-Barraza, in an opinion written by Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook and joined by Judges Richard Posner and Diane Wood. Following adverse decisions from the Immigration Court and the Board of Immigration Appeals, Mr. Escobar was facing permanent removal from the United States based on a conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia . Mr. Escobar argued, and the Seventh Circuit held, that his conviction, resulting from an empty marijuana pipe being found in a car in which he was riding, "relates to a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana." This holding renders Mr. Escobar eligible for a discretionary waiver of his offense so that he can obtain permanent residency in the United States.
New York associate Christopher Desmond and Houston associates Anne Kersch de Santin and Victor Zhao represented Mr. Escobar, with Houston partner Brett Busby supervising and in cooperation with Chuck Roth of the National Immigrant Justice Center.
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