Sanjiv Kakkar v. Chestnut et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California granted in part Sanjiv Kakkar’s request for a temporary restraining order concerning his detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c). The court concluded that Kakkar had shown a protected liberty interest and was likely entitled to a bond hearing under an as-applied Fifth Amendment due process challenge. The court referred the matter to the assigned magistrate judge for a determination on the merits.

Holdings

1. Petitioner has a protected liberty interest arising from his four years of post-conviction freedom and integration into the community prior to re-detention.
2. The Matthews v. Eldridge balancing test weighs in favor of requiring a pre-deprivation bond hearing because: (1) petitioner has a significant private interest in freedom; (2) the risk of erroneous deprivation is high where no bond or custody redetermination hearing has been provided; and (3) the government's interest is low given custody hearings are routine and the government waited four years to detain petitioner without identifying changed circumstances.

Questions Presented

1. Whether petitioner has a protected liberty interest under the Due Process Clause arising from his post-conviction community integration prior to re-detention.
2. Whether the procedures afforded to petitioner prior to re-detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) satisfy due process as applied.
3. Whether petitioner is entitled to a pre-deprivation bond hearing before a neutral adjudicator.

Disposition

writ_granted