SCOTUS Blog provides us with good news this morning. The United States Supreme Court has ruled against the government in the identity theft case Flores-Figueroa v. US. A unanimous court rules the United States government must prove that those who use a phony identification card (social security card) know the numbers belong to a real person.
The Court today decided Flores-Figueroa v. United States. The decision below, which held for the United States, is unanimously reversed and remanded in a 9-0 opinion written by Justice Breyer. Justice Scalia filed an opinion concurring in part and in the judgment, joined by Justice Thomas, and Justice Alito filed an opinion concurring in part and in the judgment. Download 08-108[1]
Flores-Figueroa v. U.S. gave the Court the opportunity to spell out the proof that federal prosecutors must offer in order to obtain a conviction for criminal identity theft under federal law. The Bush administration had increased the use of the identity theft fraud criminal charges in immigration reform re: Potsville, Iowa in May 2008. Thus, Flores-Figueroa will likely affect future immigraton enforcement efforts. Federal appellate courts had been divided over the government's burden of proof in aggravated identity theft cases.
This win for non-citizens follows Negusie v. Mukesey in March and Nken v. Holder in April which is not bad given the conservative Supreme Court. It suggests that the Bush administration took some extreme positions on immigration-related matters that even this Court could not swallow.
More analysis by MPI here.
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