Diaz v. Sessions

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Petitioner sought review of the denial of his motion to reopen his application for cancellation of removal. The Fifth Circuit denied the petition for review and held that petitioner effectively conceded that he was convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance and thus the court had jurisdiction over only constitutional claims or questions of law. In this case, the BIA and IJ denied the motion to reopen as untimely and not subject to equitable tolling because petitioner had not shown ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC). Therefore, insofar as petitioner raised a constitutional claim of IAC, the court held that it had jurisdiction to resolve both that question of law and any factual questions necessary to its resolution. However, petitioner failed to show IAC because, if nothing else, he failed to show that he was prejudiced by any ineffectiveness where he was unlikely to obtain cancellation of removal. View "Diaz v. Sessions" on Justia Law