Admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003
Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):
(2010) 9th Circuit -Winning outcome after Oral Argument before the 9th Circuit: remand to BIA for further consideration in the matter of Sarkis, et al v. Mukasey, 06-72875 & 08-71635. $1.3 million settlement for a pedestrian struck by a car while walking on the sidewalk(published). $850,000 for an elderly man who fell to the floor due to the negligence of another. (published Jury verdicts December 2008) 9th Circuit published opinion, BABALLAH V ASHCROFT (9th Cir. 2004) Federal Circuits, 9th Cir. (May 06, 2004) Docket number: 01-71407 U.S. Supreme Court, Petition for Ceriorari & Application for Stay, No. 07A452 (2007) U.S. Supreme Court, Petition for a writ of certiorari, Keiti Kayyal, et al., Petitioners v. Peter D. Keisler, Acting Attorney General, 07A384, submitted to Justice Kennedy (2007), 2003
9th Circ, Silva vs. Garland, Court overruled/reversed BIA denial and granted the petition and remanded to the agency to consider petitioner’s application for relief pursuant to the Convention Against Torture (CAT). , 2021
Maldonado vs. Holder, 9th circ (en banc 2015), burden of proof of internal relocation modified and overruled other 9th Circuit cases in Convention Against Torture (CAT) claims. The en banc court held that Hasan and Lemus-Galvan are inconsistent with 8 C.F.R. §§ 1208.16(c)(2) and (3) because they improperly place the burden on the petitioner to prove that internal relocation is impossible. The en banc court also concluded that Singh departs from § 1208.16(c)(3) because the regulation does not specify that the inability to relocate safely is an element of claim for deferral of removal for which a petitioner bears the burden of proof, and that PerezRamirez improperly applied to the CAT context the burdenshifting scheme for internal relocation applicable to asylum claims., 2015
San Mateo Bar Association Free Legal service, held once a year
Honors/Awards:
Award for significant contributions to the AILA Northern Chapter, Significant Contributions Award, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Northern California Chapter, 1998
Educational Background:
Cambridge University, Cambridge, England (comparative law), University of Sienna, Sienna, Italy, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA. (Bachelor of Science, Engineering, 1982)
Bachelor of Science, Engineeering. San Jose State University, 1982