COMMON GROUND

Trump Appointee Joins Liberal SCOTUS Colleague to Blast ‘Absurd’ Case

The two opposing justices saw eye to eye on the government’s treatment of an illegal immigrant.

A Trump-appointed Supreme Court judge joined a liberal colleague to denounce the government’s actions in a case they said had “serious constitutional problems.”

Justices Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor declined to hear arguments in a case involving Jesus Herrera-Salazar, a Mexican national who was arrested twice for being “found in” the U.S. despite being ordered to remain in the country while he was on probation.

Sotomayor, an appointee of Barack Obama, wrote that the government’s treatment of Herrera-Salazar didn’t conform to double jeopardy protections, which prevent the government from prosecuting a person twice for the same criminal offense. Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, joined her in her statement.

“Because I hope the facts of this case are anomalous and because Herrera-Salazar has since been removed from the United States, I concur in the Court’s decision not to grant review in this case,” Sotomayor wrote. “I write, however, to underscore the serious constitutional problems that plague the Government’s treatment of Herrera-Salazar.”

The justice explained how the government prosecuted Herrera-Salazar twice after he illegally crossed the border. He was first found in Texas in 2020 and was sentenced to prison time.

“After being once convicted and punished for being found in the United States and, as part of his original sentence, prohibited from leaving the United States, Herrera-Salazar was convicted and punished for being found in the United States a second time,” she continued.

Herrera-Salazar served both sentences and was deported in 2024, according to The Hill.

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Sotomayor wrote that the statutory language “found in... the United States” was unclear and could not reasonably be understood to include a person the government had already found and ordered to remain in the country under supervision.

She added that since the crime Herrera-Salazar was convicted of extended over the whole period he was present in the U.S. after his previous removal and reentry, the crime wouldn’t have concluded until the government allowed him to leave the country.

“From the moment he was released from custody after serving his first term of imprisonment, Herrera-Salazar was presented with a Hobson’s choice,” Sotomayor wrote, referring to a “take it or leave it” choice where only one option is actually offered.

“Should circumstances like these arise again, I encourage courts to avoid the constitutional absurdity that occurred here and give the Double Jeopardy Clause its full weight and meaning,” she concluded.

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Vic VerbalaitisNight Breaking News Reporter

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