United States ex rel. Dentico v. Esperdy
United States ex rel. Dentico v. Esperdy
Opinion of the Court
Relator, Joseph Dentico, appeals from an order of the district court dismissing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought to obtain his release from detention for deportation. The petition challenges in several respects the fairness of the administrative hearing upon which the order of deportation was entered and also asserts that the Attorney General failed to sustain his burden of proving at the hearing that relator was an alien. We find no error and affirm the judgment.
On October 1, 1951 relator was served with a warrant of arrest in deportation proceedings. At the time he was 52 years old and had been an alien resident of the United States since his arrival from Italy in 1907. The warrant alleged that he was subject to deportation under § 19(a) of the Immigration Act of 1917, 39 Stat. 874,
Relator claims that the administrative hearing afforded him in 1952 was unfair in that (1) he was denied assistance of counsel; (2) he was not given adequate notice of the hearing; and (3) the complexity of the questions directed at one of so little education made the hearing generally unfair and in violation of due process.
At the commencement of the deportation hearing and again part way through it relator was specifically informed of his right to counsel, and upon each occasion he expressly waived this right. In the face of these waivers and in view of the hearing officer’s statements to relator that he was entitled to present evidence and make objections, there was no unfairness in proceeding with the hearing. United States ex rel. Jankowski v. Shaughnessy, 2 Cir., 1951, 186 F.2d 580.
The warrant of arrest served upon relator in October 1951 gave him notice that he would be afforded a hearing on the charges against him. This notice was sufficient to comply with the requirements of due process. Moreover, since the hearing examiner offered to grant relator a continuance if he wished additional time to prepare his defense on the narcotics-conviction issue, no unfairness could have resulted from any inadequacy of the notice. See Bilokum-sky v. Tod, 1923, 263 U.S. 149, 44 S.Ct. 54, 68 L.Ed. 221.
With respect to the overall fairness of the hearing and the ability of relator to understand the questions asked him, we- have examined the record of the hearing and find no inequity. The issues upon which relator was examined— whether he had been convicted of the crimes alleged and whether he was an alien — were not difficult to understand. The convictions were shown not only by relator’s admissions but by the certificates of conviction.
Relator’s additional assertion that the Attorney General failed to prove that he was an alien is gainsaid by his own negative responses to the questions whether either he or his father had become an American citizen. If, as relator asserts, he now has new evidence tending to show that his father became a citizen, this evidence should be presented to the Board of Immigration Appeals by way of a motion to reopen the deportation hearing,
Relator’s final contention, that the Board of Immigration Appeals erroneously denied his application to reopen the deportation hearing in order that he might present evidence upon his suitability for discretionary relief from deportation under 8 U.S.C.A. § 1182(a), needs only brief mention. Section 1182 (a) permits the Attorney General, in his discretion, to admit an alien falling
Affirmed. •
Now 8 U.S.C.A. § 1251(a) (4).
. It is settled that an indeterminate sentence for a period which may exceed one year is a sentence for more than one year within the meaning of the immigration statute. United States ex rel. Popoff v. Reimer, 2 Cir., 1935, 79 F.2d 513; United States ex rel. Amato v. Commissioner of Immigration, D.C.S.D.N.Y.1937, 18 F.Supp. 480.
Now 8 U.S.C.A. § 1251(a) (11).
. The hearing officer properly determined that the crimes of which relator was convicted involved moral turpitude. See United States ex rel. Zaffarano v. Corsi, 2 Cir., 1933, 63 F.2d 757.
. Relator has twice sought to have the deportation hearing reopened but on neither occasion were the affidavits upon which relator now relies as showing his father’s citizenship presented.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America ex rel. Joseph Michael DENTICO, Relator-Appellant v. P. A. ESPERDY, District Director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service for the New York District
- Cited By
- 8 cases
- Status
- Published