{"id":1935,"date":"2019-06-03T12:21:22","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T16:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/ejc\/?p=1935"},"modified":"2021-11-23T19:07:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T19:07:24","slug":"restrict-inquiry-into-immigration-status-in-unrelated-cases-law-professors-urge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/ejc\/2019\/06\/03\/restrict-inquiry-into-immigration-status-in-unrelated-cases-law-professors-urge\/","title":{"rendered":"Restrict inquiry into immigration status in unrelated cases, law professors urge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re in court for a landlord-tenant case, or an auto accident or domestic violence hearing, should the other side be allowed to ask about your immigration status? Common sense suggests that the answer is no. Unless the case is actually about your immigration status, it\u2019s just not relevant \u2013 and it could be prejudicial.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the prospect of being asked about immigration in an unrelated matter can easily frighten immigrants from seeking justice in court, even when they have valid claims or defenses \u2013 as both the <a href=\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/ejc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/01\/Obstructing-Justice.pdf\">Sheller Center<\/a> and PA\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pa-interbranchcommission.com\/_pdfs\/Memo_re_Immigration_in_State_Courts_Anon.pdf\">Interbranch Commission<\/a> have reported.<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania\u2019s rules of evidence, however, haven\u2019t addressed the problem until recently, when the PA Supreme Court Rules Committee proposed a new \u201ccomment\u201d to the rules. The comment would say that a person\u2019s immigration status is generally irrelevant and inadmissible.<\/p>\n<p>In response, law professors from Drexel, Penn, Penn State, Pitt, Temple (including the Sheller Center), Villanova, and Widener submitted a <a href=\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/ejc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/06\/Comments-to-Proposed-Amendment-to-Comment-to-Pa.R.E.-401.pdf\">letter<\/a> strongly supporting the proposal \u2013 while also arguing that it does not go far enough.\u00a0 Instead of addressing the issue through a non-binding comment, the letter states, the Committee should develop an actual rule \u2013 such as exists in California and Washington \u2013 that would provide clear, non-discretionary guidance to judges, lawyers, and parties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re in court for a landlord-tenant case, or an auto accident or domestic violence hearing, should the other side be allowed to ask about your immigration status? Common sense suggests that the answer is no. Unless the case is actually about your immigration status, it\u2019s just not relevant \u2013 and it could be prejudicial. &#8230; <a title=\"Restrict inquiry into immigration status in unrelated cases, law professors urge\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/ejc\/2019\/06\/03\/restrict-inquiry-into-immigration-status-in-unrelated-cases-law-professors-urge\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Restrict inquiry into immigration status in unrelated cases, law professors urge\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"generate_page_header":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Restrict inquiry into immigration status in unrelated cases, law professors urge - Elder Justice Consortium<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/law.temple.edu\/ejc\/2019\/06\/03\/restrict-inquiry-into-immigration-status-in-unrelated-cases-law-professors-urge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Restrict inquiry into immigration status in unrelated cases, law professors urge - Elder Justice Consortium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you\u2019re in court for a landlord-tenant case, or an auto accident or domestic violence hearing, should the other side be allowed to ask about your immigration status? Common sense suggests that the answer is no. Unless the case is actually about your immigration status, it\u2019s just not relevant \u2013 and it could be prejudicial. ... 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