Vladislav Bernshtein v. U.S. Attorney General, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted Vladislav Bernshtein’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Applying Zadvydas v. Davis, the court held that Petitioner’s prolonged post-removal-order detention was not justified because there was no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future. The court rejected Respondents’ request to toll the six-month period based on alleged noncooperation and ordered Petitioner’s release within 24 hours.

Holdings

1. A mere refusal or failure to complete a travel-document application does not extend the removal period under § 1231(a)(1)(C) absent a showing that the detainee acted in bad faith to prevent removal.
2. A detainee who has been held beyond the presumptively reasonable six-month period and provides good reason to believe that removal is not significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future is entitled to release unless the government rebuts that showing with sufficient evidence.
3. No evidentiary hearing was required because the parties did not present a genuine factual dispute concerning the circumstances underlying Bernshtein's failure to complete the application.

Questions Presented

1. Whether respondents established that 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(C) extended the removal period because Bernshtein acted in bad faith by not completing a travel-document application presented in Russian.
2. Whether Bernshtein established under Zadvydas v. Davis that his post-removal-order detention exceeded the presumptively reasonable six-month period and that there was no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.
3. Whether respondents rebutted Bernshtein's showing with sufficient evidence of a significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.

Disposition

writ_granted