National Lawyers' Guild San Francisco Chapter et al v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al

Filing 43

ORDER RE: JOINT STATUS REPORT AND STIPULATION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS. Signed by Judge Richard Seeborg on 8/27/10. (cl, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/27/2010)

*E-Filed 8/27/10* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 WHEREAS, in an effort to narrow the issues before the Court, 1. The parties have entered into a series of stipulations to stay proceedings since April v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, et al., Defendants. / TONY WEST Assistant Attorney General JOHN R. TYLER Assistant Branch Director ERIC B. BECKENHAUER, CSBN 237526 Trial Attorney U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 20 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington, DC 20530 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Attorneys for Defendants IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION NATIONAL LAWYERS' GUILD SAN FRANCISCO CHAPTER, et al., Plaintiffs, No. C 08-5137 RS JOINT STATUS REPORT AND STIPULATION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS; AND [PROPOSED] ORDER

24, 2009, to allow Defendants to conduct secondary searches and process potentially responsive records, and to allow the parties to confer in an effort to resolve Plaintiffs' claims without the Court's intervention. On October 30, 2009, as a result of those negotiations, Plaintiffs stipulated that they did not contest the adequacy of the searches performed by Defendants DHS, DHS-OIG, or CIS, or the propriety of the withholdings made by DHS-OIG; accordingly, pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), the parties filed a stipulation of dismissal of this action with prejudice with respect
NO. C 08-5137 RS JOINT STATUS REPORT AND STIPULATION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS

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to those Defendants. Negotiations continued with respect to the remaining Defendants: CBP, EOIR, and ICE. Most recently, on May 4, 2010, the Court approved the parties' stipulations (a) to further stay proceedings through and including August 31, 2010; and (b) to submit a joint report advising the Court on the status of negotiations and processing, and/or a stipulation proposing a schedule to govern further proceedings, no later than August 31, 2010; and 2. EOIR has provided Plaintiffs with a letter describing the scope of its search and a

preliminary, partial Vaughn index explaining the bases for its withholdings. In response, Plaintiffs have stipulated that they do not contest either the adequacy of the search performed by EOIR, or the propriety of the withholdings made by EOIR; and 3. ICE has provided Plaintiffs with a letter describing the scope of its search and a

preliminary, partial Vaughn index explaining the bases for its withholdings. In response, Plaintiffs have stipulated that they do not contest the adequacy of the search performed by ICE. With respect to the withholdings made by ICE, Plaintiffs have responded with two objections and/or requests for clarification, and the parties have conferred to discuss the propriety of those withholdings. Plaintiffs are not yet prepared to stipulate to the propriety of those withholdings; however, further negotiation may eliminate the need for judicial resolution of these issues; and 4. CBP has provided Plaintiffs with a letter describing the scope of its search and a

preliminary, partial Vaughn index explaining the bases for its withholdings; Plaintiffs have responded with several objections and/or requests for clarification; and the parties have continued to confer to discuss the scope of CBP's search and the propriety of its withholdings. Plaintiffs are not yet prepared to stipulate to the adequacy of CBP's search or the propriety of its withholdings; however, further negotiation may eliminate the need for judicial resolution of these issues; and WHEREAS it would minimize litigation costs and conserve judicial resources to stay further proceedings in this case to permit the above-mentioned negotiations to continue, and to permit the parties to confer further as described above;

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IT IS HEREBY AGREED AND STIPULATED by and between the parties, through undersigned counsel, subject to the approval of the Court, that: 1. Further proceedings in this case are stayed for a period of approximately 3 months through and including November 30, 2010, and 2. No later than November 30, 2010, the parties shall submit a joint report advising the Court on the status of the above-mentioned negotiations and/or a stipulation proposing a schedule to govern further proceedings.

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Dated: August 25, 2010 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Jayashri Srikantiah JAYASHRI SRIKANTIAH IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS CLINIC STANFORD LAW SCHOOL 559 Nathan Abbott Way Stanford, CA 94305 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] LINTON JOAQUIN KAREN TUMLIN NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER 3435 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2850 Los Angeles, CA 90010 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] JARED KOPEL LISA A. DAVIS DOMINIQUE-CHANTALE ALEPIN WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI Professional Corporation 650 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, CA 94304-1050 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Attorneys for Plaintiffs SIGNATURE ATTESTATION In accordance with General Order 45(X), I hereby attest that I have obtained Jayashri Srikantiah's concurrence in the filing of this document. /s/ Eric B. Beckenhauer ERIC B. BECKENHAUER TONY WEST Assistant Attorney General JOHN R. TYLER Assistant Branch Director /s/ Eric B. Beckenhauer ERIC B. BECKENHAUER, CSBN 237526 Trial Attorney U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch 20 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington, DC 20530 Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Attorneys for Defendants

[PROPOSED] ORDER Pursuant to stipulation, IT IS SO ORDERED.

8/27/10 Dated: ________________________

RICHARD SEEBORG United States District Judge
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