Saturday, August 22, 2020

Proof That The Parties Have Hit An Impasse (Due Solely To Trumpian Lawlessness): Govt. Clearly Stone-Walling In Flores Litigation...


Team Trump, via Sarah Fabian, has now stopped cooperating in meet and confer sessions, despite ongoing orders from the able Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles, that Ms. Fabian, and the Trumpian DHS, ORR, ICE, HHS and BPS are required by the terms of the Flores consent decree, to do so.

Overnight, a status report, marked to show changes from the last one (in blue) -- makes clear that Ms. Fabian is doing nearly nothing to advance compliance with court orders. See this six page PDF (a bit is quoted below).

Given this, and the fact that children are suffering ongoing harms, due primarily to these lawyers' foot-dragging -- it is now appropriate for the able judge to start issuing contempt citations -- to all the involved government lawyers (ones with heightened duties here, since child welfare is clearly being impacted by this US malfeasance) -- all as we've repeatedly previously set forth. Here's the latest bit:

. . . .[The Trumpian] Defendants have known that in addition to other concerns relating to data collection which as stated above have now been resolved, under Paragraph 28 of the FSA the Juvenile Coordinator is required for each detained Class Member to “collect information regarding the reasons for every placement of a minor in a detention facility. . .” (Emphasis added). Paragraph 29, in turn, states that Defendants “shall” provide to Class Counsel “the information collected pursuant to Paragraph 28. . . and each. . . policy or instruction issued to [Defendants’] employees regarding the implementation of this Agreement.” This concern is not “vague” as Defendants state below. Neither the FSA's language nor what Plaintiffs seek is "vague. . . ."

As clearly explained in the Joint Status Report filed July 31, 2020, at 17-18, Defendants have simply not provided Class Counsel with the information identified above. This is hardly news to Defendants. . . .


I now truly hope the DC bar authorities give Ms. Fabian a call (or dash off a less formal e-mail), and explain her duties to her, in detail -- before they send out a letter of formal complaint.

Onward -- to an evening under the stars. . . . grinning just the same.

नमस्ते

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