Tong Sues US Government for 'Singling Out' Connecticut Pardons
"This is not about any one individual case," Tong spokeswoman Elizabeth Benton said Friday. "It's about the legitimacy of Connecticut's pardon process."
October 11, 2019 at 12:33 PM
3 minute read
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has sued five U.S. government agencies in federal court, alleging they're "singling Connecticut out" by rejecting the state's pardon of criminal defendants.
In a 25-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, Tong raised constitutional and sovereignty issues. He claimed the state is the only one in the country where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement doesn't recognize the pardon system.
"This is not about any one individual case," Tong spokeswoman Elizabeth Benton said Friday. "It's about the legitimacy of Connecticut's pardon process."
The federal government says it only acknowledges pardons handed down directly from governors. But Connecticut is one of six states—along with Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, South Carolina and Utah—that use a governor-appointed commission instead.
Tong alleges the federal government accepts pardons from five of these states, but not Connecticut.
"By irrationally singling Connecticut out from among its 49 sister states without showing any need, defendants have violated the constitutional principle of equal sovereignty," the lawsuit states. "Defendants have abruptly abandoned 66 years of settled practice, and singled-out Connecticut's government, law, and residents for deeply unequal and prejudicial treatment in the nation's immigration system."
The suit names ICE, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review as defendants. The Justice Department declined to comment, and no one from the other agencies responded.
The lawsuit alleges the federal government had previously accepted Connecticut's pardons, but seemed to change direction in 2018, with the case of defendant Richard Thompson.
Thompson is a lawful permanent Connecticut resident who moved to the U.S. from Jamaica at 17 years old. Connecticut gave him a complete pardon for his role in a second-degree assault after a bar fight, but ICE detained him for deportation.
Another case has also come into the spotlight, involving England native Wayzaro Walton, who ICE detained in Massachusetts. The federal government is seeking to deport Walton to England over several crimes she committed in Connecticut, but for which she received a full pardon.
Tong's lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief. Among other things, it seeks that the court "hold unlawful, vacate, and set aside defendant's practice of disregarding the efficacy and impact of Connecticut's pardons under the Pardon Waiver Claim."
The matter is scheduled for a hearing before Judge Vanessa Bryant.
Related stories:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'Severe Emotional Distress': DC Judge Finds Iran Liable in 3 US Hostage-Takings
2 minute read'You Are Not Alone': 120 Sex Assault Victims Plan to Sue Sean 'Diddy' Combs
4 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250