1 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Law with June Brusso from Bloomberg Radio. 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 2: I'll put you each in a room and I'll ask 3 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 2: you every little question. They're a real couple would know 4 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 2: about each other. Step two, I dig deeper. I look 5 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:20,799 Speaker 2: at your phone records. I talk to your neighbors, I 6 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 2: interview your coworkers. If your answers don't match up at 7 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 2: every point, you will be deported indefinitely, and you, young man, 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,639 Speaker 2: will have committed a felony punishable by a fine of 9 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,279 Speaker 2: two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in a stay of 10 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 2: five years. In federal present. 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 3: The proposal is just one of many rom coms where 12 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 3: someone threatened with deportation enters into a sham marriage with 13 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 3: a US citizen. The movies usually have happy endings, but 14 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 3: a real life case before the Supreme Court that began 15 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 3: nearly ten years ago still has no ending. The Justice 16 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 3: is ruled unanimously that federal courts can't sit second guess 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 3: the government revoking a visa due to a sham marriage. 18 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:08,199 Speaker 3: That's left to the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security, 19 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 3: putting the couple back at square one. Joining me is 20 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 3: an expert in immigration law. And in this movie the Proposal, 21 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 3: Leon Fresco apartnered with Holland and Knight. He was the 22 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 3: head of the Office of Immigration Litigation in the Obama administration. 23 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 3: So Leon tell us about the couple in this case. 24 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: So the situation is actually pretty straightforward. There was a 25 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: US citizen. The US citizen applied for a visa for 26 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: the spouse to be able to get lawful permanent residents 27 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: in the United States. The first part of the process, 28 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,400 Speaker 1: because there's two parts, one is is the marriage valid? 29 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: And then the second is is everything fine in the 30 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: background check? The first part is the marriage valid, that's 31 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: what's called the visa petition that was approved. And so 32 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: they thought, okay, we're all said, now we're on to 33 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: the second part, the background check. Everything's going to be good. 34 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: And then during the background check process, he said, you 35 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: know what, we're going to revoke the initial approval because 36 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: we didn't realize at the time that the foreign husband 37 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: who they were trying to get the green card for 38 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: had actually been involved in a sham marriage where supposedly 39 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: this guy had paid five thousand dollars to try to 40 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: get a green card. And I don't know why USCIS 41 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: didn't know it initially, but they figured it out the 42 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: second time around, and so they revoked the petition. They 43 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: then took an administrative appeal. They lost in the administrative appeal, 44 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: so they tried to file a federal court case. And 45 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 1: the issue in the federal court case was is this 46 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,919 Speaker 1: decision to revoke the initial approval something that you can 47 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: actually review in the federal court. 48 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 3: So there are mandatory and discretionary decisions, and discretionary decisions 49 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 3: can't be reviewed by a court. 50 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: Right, there's a lot of things that the government is 51 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: very concerned that if you start giving judicial review for 52 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,120 Speaker 1: or there will be thousands, if not hundreds of thousands 53 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: of federal court cases. So the Congress writes laws that 54 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: say here's what we're gonna do. We are gonna say 55 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: that in certain situations, the agencies that deal with immigrants 56 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: will get the final word, meaning sometimes they can be nice, 57 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: sometimes they can be mean, but whatever they decide, they 58 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: will get the final word because there's no way we 59 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: can possibly allow thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of 60 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: cases to challenge these agencies and what they're saying. There's 61 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: other times that the statute say, if you make a decision, 62 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: you can get review. And so the question is, does 63 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: a particular statute in any given instance give the final 64 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: discretionary word to the agency so that you can't review it. 65 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: Or if the decision is one that has to be 66 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: made yes or no and there's no discretion, you either 67 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: have to decide, for instance, is the person qualified under 68 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: the visa to do it work? So that's either a 69 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: yes or no. And if you say yes, that's finement. 70 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: You say no, you can get review of that. I 71 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: am qualified. I know they said that I'm not, but 72 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: I am. That's the kind of thing where review is available. 73 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: But if the Congress says no, this is a discretionary decision, 74 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: we want it to be decided by the agency, and 75 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: they can either be nice or mean, but it's up 76 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: to them, then they're the last word. You cannot go 77 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:23,720 Speaker 1: to federal court. 78 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 3: So why did the Supreme Court here decide that revoking 79 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 3: the visa is a discretionary decision. 80 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 1: The statute says if you come across a sham marriage 81 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: in any part of this process, you can revoke it 82 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: for good and sufficient cause. But because it says you 83 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: can revoke and it doesn't say you have to revoke. 84 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: The Supreme Court said, hey, that's again a discretionary decision 85 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: that either the agency can decide to let it slide, 86 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: even if there was a sham marriage, or they can 87 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: decide to revoke the petition. But in either case that's 88 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: aary decision. And so because of that, they say that 89 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: that's then not a decision that the federal courts can review. 90 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: And that was a nothing, rare, nine nothing Supreme Court 91 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: decision that was actually written by Justice Jackson, who's considered 92 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: probably to be the most of the compassionate judges toward immigrants. 93 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:19,559 Speaker 4: On the court. 94 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: Even she said that this is the kind of discretionary 95 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: decision that is not reviewable in this situation. 96 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:32,359 Speaker 3: I thought that sham marriages barred people from remaining in 97 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 3: the country legally, that if they found a sham marriage, 98 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 3: you were out. 99 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: So interestingly, here's how that worked. 100 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 4: If you apply on step one. 101 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 1: So you say I'm a US citizen I want to 102 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,039 Speaker 1: marry a foreign nationalist, you're in step one of the process. 103 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: If USCIS encounters that there was a sham marriage. 104 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 4: Either the US citizen. 105 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: Had been in a sham marriage in the PIP or 106 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: the foreign national had been in a sham marriage in 107 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: the pipe, they must deny that the ting, and that 108 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: petition therefore can be reviewed in federal court. But this 109 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:09,159 Speaker 1: is not how that happened. This was after the fact 110 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 1: USCIS find out that there was an error, do you 111 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 1: have to revoke it? And what the Supreme Court said 112 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: was nobody says in this statute that you have to 113 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: revoke it. You could just let it slide. Now there's 114 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: evidence in this case, and just as Jackson cites to it, 115 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: that says, well, USCIS never lets it slide. They never, 116 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: They never are nice to people in this situation. They 117 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: always revoke every single case where they see that there 118 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: was a sham marriage involved. But what Justice Jackson says 119 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: is who cares. That doesn't matter what they actually do. 120 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: What matters is whether the legislature gives. 121 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,280 Speaker 4: Them the discretion to overlook. 122 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: It or not. And because the language of the statutes 123 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: give the discretion to the immigration agency to overlook a 124 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:58,839 Speaker 1: sham marriage if it is found after the fact after 125 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: an approval, not aforehand. But if it is found after 126 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:06,479 Speaker 1: the fact, then that's considered a discretionary decision. And so 127 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: the decision to revoke, which is discretionary then cannot be reviewed. 128 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 3: This case seems like a wasted effort because if the 129 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 3: petition is revoked, the couple can just file a new 130 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 3: visa application. 131 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: In this marriage context, you can always just apply again, 132 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: and if they deny you, now that they know about 133 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: this Shen marriage, you can get the federal court review 134 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: you were worried about. And in fact, the plaintiff in 135 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: this case is literally in the middle of this, So 136 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: it just seemed like a why are you complaining case 137 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: at the end of the day, since you actually can 138 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: get the federal court review that you want by simply 139 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: putting in a brand new application, and there's no bar 140 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: in this instance to putting in a brand new application. 141 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: So that's why I think you end up getting the 142 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: nine zero decision is because in the end, yes, this 143 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: will close out a way that theoretically could have been 144 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 1: available for a revocation of a marriage case. But in 145 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: the end, what it makes clear is that if you 146 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: are in this exact situation where your marriage was approved 147 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: for immigration green card purposes, but now it's been revoked 148 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: on step two when you're going through the background check process, 149 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: that all you have to do is file step one 150 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: again and they'll have to deny it because now they 151 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: know about the sham marriage. And since they have to 152 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: deny it, that's what you'll be able to get the 153 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: review of that denial. 154 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 3: So then did this couple actually win the Supreme Court case, 155 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,079 Speaker 3: because they're eventually going to get the court review they want. 156 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: But she didn't win the case from the standpoint of 157 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: the relief she actually wanted, which was to immediately be 158 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: able to get a decision right now as to whether 159 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: that was really a sham marriage. So she can't get that, 160 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: and she has to restart the process, like you've said, 161 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: And so it's a non ultimate but it's a loss 162 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: in this forum, in these proceedings for what she wanted, Leon. 163 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 3: I mean, when the federal court reviews it, they're going 164 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,079 Speaker 3: to see there was a sham marriage, correct, So the 165 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 3: judge will rule against the couple. So what's the point 166 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 3: here Is it just to delay the inevitable. 167 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:20,720 Speaker 1: So sometimes the hope is this that occasionally what will 168 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,840 Speaker 1: happen is so you'll have the uscis the Immigration Service, 169 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: We'll say that there was a sham marriage, and then 170 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 1: you'll have an administrative appeal. But it goes to people 171 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:36,319 Speaker 1: who are generally inclined to be deferential to the agency, 172 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: and so they'll say it was a sham marriage. But 173 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,840 Speaker 1: you hope you can get a federal court judge who 174 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: maybe looks a little bit more askance at the government 175 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 1: that says, you know, what, why are you viewing things 176 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:52,160 Speaker 1: in such a skeptical, cynical light? You know, I know 177 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 1: there was five thousand dollars exchange, but that was for 178 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: love or. 179 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 4: Something, you know, who knows. 180 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:00,439 Speaker 1: And so you get one of these judges who baby 181 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: doesn't really trust the government so much, and maybe you 182 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: could get a decision that's better than you could have 183 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: ever hoped for. And so that's what they're looking for, 184 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,280 Speaker 1: is that kind of hail mayor is here in this situation. 185 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 3: What did Justice Jackson mean when she said that Congress 186 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,719 Speaker 3: created room for mercy in the process. 187 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:23,320 Speaker 1: Well, the mercy that she really meant was that the agency, 188 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: if they wanted to overlook the sham marriage, they theoretically 189 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: could have overlooked the sham marriage. So that's the real 190 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 1: mercy that she meant. But she also meant that there 191 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: is this second out year in this particular fact pattern 192 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,559 Speaker 1: where in the marriage issue, you can go in and 193 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 1: you can actually restart and do a new application and 194 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: then get the federal court review that you want. 195 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 3: I'm curious, because there are lots of movies about sham 196 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:53,079 Speaker 3: marriages for green court purposes. Are there actually a lot 197 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:54,079 Speaker 3: of sham marriages? 198 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:59,079 Speaker 1: So here's what's very interesting is what is a marriage? 199 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,199 Speaker 1: And the famous Judge Posner has a decision that really 200 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,840 Speaker 1: goes into this, which is, you know, talk about movies. 201 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,080 Speaker 1: One of my favorite ones of this variety is the 202 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: one with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock called the Proposal Yes, 203 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,080 Speaker 1: where he says at the end, I want to marry 204 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:14,320 Speaker 1: you so that I can date you. 205 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 4: And the question is would that be a. 206 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 1: Legitimate purpose for an immigration marriage, because in the end 207 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: you are still professing some sort of love there. And 208 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: so what Judge Posner said is this is not exactly 209 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,440 Speaker 1: the law, but I find it very persuasive, and I 210 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:34,880 Speaker 1: keep trying to convince the agencies that this is the 211 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:39,080 Speaker 1: real issue, and they're almost there. Is this did money 212 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 1: change hands? Because if money changed hands, that's a sham marriage. 213 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: But any other kind of marriage, you know, I go 214 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: to Harvard and my wife goes to Stanford. We love 215 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,080 Speaker 1: each other, but we don't live together. Non immigration marriages 216 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: that are just like that. And so that's where it 217 00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:00,200 Speaker 1: gets super complicated. And so the issue is, I say, 218 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,679 Speaker 1: did Bunny change hands? And that really is the main 219 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: thing they look for, but they also do look are 220 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: you living together? And if not, why are you not 221 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: living together? And you know, is their constant communication, is 222 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: their joint assets. All of these things and those areas 223 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,480 Speaker 1: sometimes are not conventional in certain marriages, but they still 224 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:25,440 Speaker 1: want to try to enforce those conventions on these immigration marriages. 225 00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 3: And that's just what the immigration officer considered in the proposal. 226 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:33,400 Speaker 3: Thanks so much, Leon. That's Leon Fresco of Holland and Knight. 227 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 3: Coming up next on the Bloomberg Law Show. Marine Vet 228 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 3: Daniel Petty was acquitted in the subway chocol death of 229 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 3: Jordan Neely, but now he's facing a civil lawsuit and 230 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:48,080 Speaker 3: the case against Luigi Mangioni for the shooting death of 231 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 3: United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. I'm June Grosso and you're 232 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 3: listening to Bloomberg. Both applause and anger erupted in a 233 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 3: Manhattan courtroom on Monday when a jury announced its verdict 234 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:02,959 Speaker 3: of not guilty in the trial of Daniel Penny for 235 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 3: the choke hold death of Jordan Neely on a subway 236 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:08,960 Speaker 3: last year. It was a reflection of how the case 237 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 3: divided the nation, with some hailing Penny as a hero 238 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 3: for trying to subdue a homeless man who was threatening 239 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 3: subway writers, while others saw the former marine as a 240 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 3: white vigilante who choked a black man to death. Neelie's 241 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 3: father cursed in anger when the verdict was announced and 242 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:28,559 Speaker 3: had to be removed from the courtroom. 243 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:32,760 Speaker 4: He mi to macaur no, here's something like that. 244 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 3: But in an interview with Fox, Penny said he would 245 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 3: do the same thing again if he faced a similar 246 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 3: situation in the future. 247 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 5: I would not be able to live with myself if 248 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 5: I didn't do anything in that situation and someone got hurt, 249 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,959 Speaker 5: I would feel guilty for the rest of my life. 250 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 5: And I think I'm in a position and all people, 251 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 5: if they're in a position help should always help. 252 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 3: Joining me is Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Ahrenberg. 253 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 3: Dave the jury came back last Friday after four days 254 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:11,559 Speaker 3: of deliberating, and said they were deadlocked on the top 255 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:15,440 Speaker 3: charge of manslaughter. Over the course of the deliberations. The 256 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 3: jury had asked to rewatch the bystander videos of Penny 257 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:25,600 Speaker 3: restraining Neelie, the officer's bodycam videos, and video of Penny's 258 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,920 Speaker 3: interview with police detectives. They also wanted to rehear the 259 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 3: medical examiner's testimony about issuing a death certificate before Neale's 260 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 3: full toxicology reports came in. Can you tell from those 261 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 3: requests what they were likely hung up on. 262 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 6: It's really the overall narrative, and it was a question 263 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,400 Speaker 6: whether he acted recklessly, whether he went too far, And 264 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 6: even with the lesser charge of negligent homicide, you only 265 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 6: need to act carelessly. So they really wanted to know 266 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:02,400 Speaker 6: if this guy just went too far, and they wanted 267 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 6: to hear from bystanders. They want to see video, and 268 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 6: by all appearances, it looked like Daniel Penny was a 269 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 6: good samaritan and he was there to hold Jordan Neely 270 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,400 Speaker 6: down in that choke hold. It depends how you define 271 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 6: it until the threat abated, and was it too long? 272 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 6: That was the question for the jury, and the jury 273 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 6: ultimately said, if it's too long or not, we can't 274 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 6: make a clear delineation beyond a reasonable doubt, and so 275 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:31,480 Speaker 6: therefore not guilty. 276 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 3: After the jury said they were deadlocked on the top charge, 277 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 3: the judge granted the prosecution's motion to drop that charge 278 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 3: and allow the jury to deliberate on the lesser included 279 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 3: charge of criminally negligent homicide. The defense had asked for 280 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 3: a mistrial, saying this could lead to a compromise verdict. 281 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 3: Do you think the judge should have declared a mistrial. 282 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,520 Speaker 6: No, because it is the prerogative of prosecutors to seek 283 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 6: a verdict on the lesser counts, And just because you 284 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:03,960 Speaker 6: can't come up with a verdict on the biggest count 285 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 6: manslaughter in this case, doesn't mean that you can't look 286 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 6: to door B. Because prosecutors wanted any type of conviction 287 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,240 Speaker 6: in this case, and quite frankly, I think this case 288 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 6: probably should not have been brought because I think going 289 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 6: into it, prosecutors had to know it was very unlikely 290 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 6: that they would get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. 291 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 6: After all, jurors take the subway too, and all of 292 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 6: us have had experiences with someone with untreated mental illness 293 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,920 Speaker 6: scaring people on the subway, so I thought this was 294 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 6: an uphill battle. But I do say that the prosecutors 295 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 6: should have been able to seek a verdict on the 296 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 6: lesser charge, and they were. 297 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 3: I wasn't surprised when the jury said they were deadlocked. 298 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 3: But here's what did surprise me. The jury deliberates for 299 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 3: four days on the manslaughter charge, the top charge, and 300 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 3: there are one or more holdouts. They can't reach a verdict, 301 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 3: which of course has to be unanimous. They come back 302 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 3: on Monday and start deliberating the lesser charge, and in 303 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 3: one hour they reach a not guilty verdict. What happened 304 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:06,680 Speaker 3: to the holdouts? 305 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 6: June? You hit the nail on the head. This was 306 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:13,200 Speaker 6: the biggest head scratcher, because they took a while hand 307 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,119 Speaker 6: ringing over the largest charge, the most difficult charge, the 308 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 6: manslaughter charge, and after there were holdouts and they couldn't 309 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 6: come to a verdict, you would think that they would 310 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 6: then deliberate justice extensively with just as many holdouts on 311 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:29,280 Speaker 6: the lesser charge. I mean, the lesser charge is much 312 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:32,400 Speaker 6: easier to convict Penny on. But yet they quitted him 313 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 6: on that one very quickly, and I think the reason 314 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 6: is dure fatigue. Dur fatigue is a real thing. They 315 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,399 Speaker 6: had the weekend to think about it, they came back, 316 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 6: and the holdouts, the ones who could not equit Daniel 317 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:49,040 Speaker 6: Penny on the biggest charge, manslaughter, decided it wasn't worth 318 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 6: a fight anymore and let's. 319 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 4: Just let him go. 320 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,040 Speaker 3: I understand that when the judge told the jurors on Friday, 321 00:17:55,359 --> 00:17:57,919 Speaker 3: you're going to come back on Monday and start deliberating 322 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 3: on the lesser charge, one of the jurors was shaking 323 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 3: his head back and forth. I mean, what Jery wants 324 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 3: to come back after a weekend. That's why you have 325 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 3: so many Friday verdicts. So, Dave, the defense did raise 326 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,760 Speaker 3: a lot of questions here about the cause of death, 327 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,800 Speaker 3: the medical examiner's report, etc. Do you think that's what 328 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,199 Speaker 3: convinced the jurors or was it just the fact that 329 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,160 Speaker 3: you have this guy who started out with good intentions. 330 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 3: Even the prosecutor admitted that, and right things got away 331 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:27,080 Speaker 3: from him. 332 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 6: Even the prosecution said that Daniel Penny acted with the 333 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 6: right mindset. He was acting in self defense. This was 334 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 6: not a murder case. This is a case at some 335 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:40,199 Speaker 6: point when perhaps Jordan Neely stopped breathing, although that was 336 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,919 Speaker 6: a big bone of contention when that happened, or perhaps 337 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 6: when the subway cars opened at the station, that Daniel 338 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 6: Penny had an obligation to release the choke hold, and 339 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 6: that's where he crossed the line. But see, that's a 340 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:55,440 Speaker 6: very difficult question for jurors, is to make that distinction 341 00:18:55,920 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 6: between heroism and being a killer. So it's tough for 342 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:05,119 Speaker 6: jurors beyond a reasonable doubt to find that delineation. And 343 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:07,240 Speaker 6: I think that's why this case was always going to 344 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 6: be an uphill battle for prosecutors, because no one doubted 345 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 6: that Journey was threatening people on the train, scared people. 346 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,360 Speaker 6: Even the witnesses for the prosecution that yeah, we were 347 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 6: scared by him. The question is at what point do 348 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 6: you cross the line and go too far? And to 349 00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 6: ask a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that 350 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:29,800 Speaker 6: someone went too far, it's so hard when they probably 351 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 6: have taken the subways, when they have been scared themselves, 352 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:34,399 Speaker 6: and when they probably wish at some point in their 353 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,680 Speaker 6: life that a Daniel Penny had stood up to protect them. 354 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 3: The legal system is not done with Penny. Jordan Neely's 355 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:46,359 Speaker 3: father is suing him for causing Neely's death through negligence, carelessness, 356 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 3: and recklessness. Of course, the burden of proof is much 357 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 3: lower in a civil case and only five out of 358 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 3: six jurors have to agree on a verdict. 359 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 6: Well, it's a much easier case than civil court because 360 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,080 Speaker 6: the civil standard is not being a reasonable doubt, it's 361 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 6: by a preponderance of the evidence. Is it more likely 362 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,880 Speaker 6: than not that this occurred? And so yes, it is 363 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 6: a much better case against Daniel Penny civilly than criminally. 364 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:12,800 Speaker 6: I'm not surprised that it has brought. It is one way 365 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 6: for the family of Jordan needed to obtain a measure 366 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,000 Speaker 6: of justice in their eyes. I don't know which way 367 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:19,880 Speaker 6: it will go, but definitely is a better chance. Now, 368 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,320 Speaker 6: if Daniel Penny had been convicted, then that lawsuit would 369 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:26,439 Speaker 6: have been much much easier, because once you've been proven 370 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 6: beyond a reasonable doubt of acting carelessly or recklessly, then 371 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 6: that comes into play in the civil court and you're 372 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 6: almost certain of winning a civil judgment. 373 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:37,720 Speaker 3: As you know, Dave, there was a lot of pressure 374 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:42,679 Speaker 3: on Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg to bring charges against Penny, 375 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 3: and his defense lawyers are considering bringing a malicious prosecution 376 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 3: case against the DA. They say the DA blurred the 377 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,359 Speaker 3: ethical lines in handling the case and colluded with the 378 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,720 Speaker 3: Medical Examiner's office. How tough are malicious prosecution case is 379 00:20:57,720 --> 00:20:58,120 Speaker 3: to win? 380 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:00,000 Speaker 4: Oh? Those are very hard. 381 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 6: I mean you really have to prove some bad faith 382 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 6: and that hardly ever works in this case. If the 383 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:09,160 Speaker 6: DA was motivated by political pressure, that's still not malicious 384 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,159 Speaker 6: prosecution as long as you have the evidence. And as 385 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 6: I said, there was enough evidence here at least to 386 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 6: file the charge, at least the seeking indictment. And yes, 387 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:18,280 Speaker 6: you could have been convicted of one of these charges, 388 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:20,760 Speaker 6: maybe just a lesser charge based on the evidence. But 389 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 6: because of the lived experiences of the jurors, I thought 390 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,640 Speaker 6: that that would never happen. And so, you know, both sides. 391 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 4: Can be right about this. 392 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 6: The defense can be right that this case should never 393 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 6: have been brought. At the same time, the prosecution can 394 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 6: be right that there was enough evidence to bring the case. 395 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:36,159 Speaker 6: Both sides can be true on this one. Now, this 396 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 6: was a sign of the times. This case reflected a 397 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,679 Speaker 6: larger split amongst the public about issues of crime and 398 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 6: race and homelessness and mental illness. And in the end, 399 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,120 Speaker 6: because there was such a split, because there was such 400 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:50,800 Speaker 6: a controversy, you were never going to get a unanimous 401 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,200 Speaker 6: jury a twelve person jury to decide beyond a reasonable 402 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 6: doubt that Daniel Penny committed manslaughter maybe a lesser crime, possibly, 403 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 6: but even that was too high of a burden for 404 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:01,920 Speaker 6: this jury. 405 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:05,959 Speaker 3: The Manhattan DA is involved in another case that seems 406 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:08,919 Speaker 3: to have captured the attention of the public, the shooting 407 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,600 Speaker 3: of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York 408 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:16,119 Speaker 3: City street on December twenty fourth. Twenty six year old 409 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,399 Speaker 3: Luigi Mangioni has been charged with second degree murder, and 410 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,520 Speaker 3: DA Bragg has said he finds the public's fascination with 411 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,159 Speaker 3: mangione disturbing. 412 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:33,800 Speaker 7: Celebrating murders abhorred, you know, for me, sit across the 413 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:40,760 Speaker 7: table from families who've had a loved one killed, and 414 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 7: to think of people. 415 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 3: Celebrating that Mangioni was arrested in Pennsylvania and he's fighting 416 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:52,159 Speaker 3: extradition to New York. But it's going to happen, isn't it. 417 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 6: It's inevitable. They're just forestalling the obvious. And there have 418 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 6: been a lot of theories out there. Maybe one reason 419 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,880 Speaker 6: is he wants to avoid Riker's prison is long as possible, 420 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 6: but he's going to get there. Or perhaps they want 421 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,199 Speaker 6: to force prosecutors to give up extra evidence that they 422 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,959 Speaker 6: wouldn't be entitled to otherwise at a hearing in Pennsylvania. 423 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 6: But really, extradition hearings are so easy. The only main 424 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,439 Speaker 6: argument is is this the guy who is described? And 425 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,240 Speaker 6: the problem cause after David, do you have the right 426 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:19,679 Speaker 6: person or is it mistaken identity? Well, it's clearly not 427 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 6: mistaken identity. So this is going to happen. He's going 428 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 6: to be extradited. They're just delaying the inevitable. 429 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 3: There seems to be a lot of evidence against him already. 430 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:32,320 Speaker 3: They reportedly have ballistics from the gun he was carrying, 431 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 3: that Matt shell casing's found at the scene. They have 432 00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,600 Speaker 3: his manifesto, which speaks to his motive. It's early, but 433 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:41,399 Speaker 3: do you see any defenses here? 434 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 6: I think the only real defense would be that Mangioni 435 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:49,200 Speaker 6: acted with severe emotional disservants, that he was so upset 436 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,160 Speaker 6: about the way the insurance companies treated him in his family, 437 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 6: that this could be a manslaughter case and not a 438 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:56,680 Speaker 6: murder case. Now I would disagree with that. I think 439 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:59,640 Speaker 6: there's clear murder. I think it should be premeditated murder. 440 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 6: But that to me will be the best defense to 441 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,919 Speaker 6: try to get a conviction on a lesser count that 442 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:07,120 Speaker 6: will allow them to get out of prison one day. Now. 443 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,840 Speaker 6: As far as another potential defense, there's what you call 444 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:13,680 Speaker 6: jury nullification. Jury nullification is when the jurors drew the 445 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 6: evidence and see the law and disregard it. Instead of 446 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:19,359 Speaker 6: doing what they're told by the judge, they go their 447 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:21,880 Speaker 6: own way because they have sympathy for the defendant. They're 448 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:23,720 Speaker 6: not supposed to do it, but it happens. It's a 449 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 6: prosecutor's worst nightmare. That is a possibility in a case 450 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,479 Speaker 6: like this, where there's so many emotions about it and 451 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:34,160 Speaker 6: so many hard feelings and frustrations towards the insurance industry. 452 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 3: If the jury is anything like the Internet, it seems 453 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 3: like jury nullification is a possibility because the Internet has 454 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 3: exploded with all kinds of support for him. 455 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,399 Speaker 6: And as a prosecutor, it's disappointing and it shows you 456 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:48,240 Speaker 6: this is an age we're living it in the age 457 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:50,840 Speaker 6: of impunity, where you can say what you want, you 458 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 6: can do what you want, and nothing. 459 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:53,280 Speaker 4: Sticks to you. 460 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 6: You can get elected no matter what your past, you 461 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 6: can be appointed no matter what you've done, and it's 462 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 6: a reflection where we are, where people are treating this 463 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,359 Speaker 6: guy as a hero, when it's not a very courageous 464 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:08,879 Speaker 6: thing to put on a mask, lie in wait for 465 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:12,000 Speaker 6: an unarmed man, and then shoot him in the back 466 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,960 Speaker 6: and then run away. Not exactly captain courage. So he's 467 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 6: not someone who should be raised up and lionized. 468 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 3: We'll see if the Internet loses its fascination with him 469 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,520 Speaker 3: once more details come out. Thanks for your insights, Dave. 470 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:28,679 Speaker 3: That's Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Arenberg. 471 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 8: The board was not heedless of environmental effects here. It 472 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:37,520 Speaker 8: consulted with dozens of agencies, considered every proximate effect, and 473 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:42,160 Speaker 8: ordered ninety one mitigation measures. Eighty eight miles of track 474 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 8: should not require more than thirty six hundred pages of 475 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:46,680 Speaker 8: environmental analysis. 476 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:51,720 Speaker 3: Former US Solicitor General Paul Clement argued that federal regulators 477 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 3: had done enough in considering the environmental impact of a 478 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 3: proposed eighty eight mile railway in Utah. Under the National 479 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 3: Environmvironmental Policy Act, or NEPA, regulators are required to analyze 480 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 3: the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts before approving infrastructure projects. But 481 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,440 Speaker 3: justice is across the ideological spectrum struggled with the test 482 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:20,359 Speaker 3: for determining when upstream and downstream effects should be considered 483 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 3: in environmental impact studies. 484 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 9: Here's this eighty eight miles of flying and railroads are 485 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:30,679 Speaker 9: going to cross it, and wildfires are going to start 486 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,240 Speaker 9: as a result. Is that within time and space? 487 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:39,879 Speaker 7: But how far down line or upstream or downstream should 488 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:40,240 Speaker 7: you look? 489 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:42,439 Speaker 4: I mean, what are you going to do? 490 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,160 Speaker 10: You're going to say, Okay, I've identified this possible issue, 491 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,920 Speaker 10: but I think it's too far away. 492 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:56,080 Speaker 6: Most environmental effects, like effects on wetlands, are going to 493 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 6: be sometimes remote in time and geography. 494 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 3: Men did admit that his proposed test wasn't an easy one. 495 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:06,440 Speaker 8: If I could give you a ten word test that 496 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:08,960 Speaker 8: took care of every hard case, I mean, you know, 497 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 8: they give me tenure at Harvard, but. 498 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:14,639 Speaker 1: I think you know having I'm sure they give you 499 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:15,280 Speaker 1: that anyway. 500 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 3: That last comment coming from Justice Elena Kagan, who was 501 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 3: once the dean of Harvard Law School, joined me as 502 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 3: an expert in environmental law. Pat Parento, a professor at 503 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:30,400 Speaker 3: the Vermont Law and Graduate School, that first tell us 504 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,960 Speaker 3: about the environmental concerns here. 505 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:39,359 Speaker 10: So this case involves a proposed eighty eight mile rail 506 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 10: link in the Uinta basin of Utah, which is huge. 507 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,240 Speaker 10: In fact, it's as big as Maryland, and it's loaded 508 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:51,680 Speaker 10: with all kinds of fossil fuels, including what's called waxy 509 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 10: crude oil. I hadn't heard about that term before, but 510 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,439 Speaker 10: that's the product that they want to ship on this 511 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:01,120 Speaker 10: rail line. And the Surface Transportation Board, which is a 512 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:04,800 Speaker 10: federal agency within the Department of Transportation, has the authority 513 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:09,320 Speaker 10: to license or approve construction of this link, which will 514 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 10: take the oil from the Uinta basein east and connect 515 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 10: it with the national railroad network and take it all 516 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 10: the way to the Gulf Coast where it will be 517 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:24,119 Speaker 10: refined into various products. So the concerns here are the 518 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:28,239 Speaker 10: drilling and the extraction that's going to occur as a 519 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 10: result of providing this critical link. Without this railroad, this 520 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 10: oil reserve couldn't be exploited. So it is a major 521 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:40,400 Speaker 10: resource with economic value and some jobs undoubtedly and income 522 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:44,160 Speaker 10: to Utah and the county. The Ute tribe of Indians 523 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:48,120 Speaker 10: is involved in this, and they have concerns about the drilling, 524 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 10: which will potentially impact some of their resources. And there's 525 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:55,800 Speaker 10: concerns about spills, which are inevitable when you're moving oil 526 00:28:55,880 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 10: by rail, there's always either chronic low level spills, leakages, 527 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 10: or in some cases, of course worse than that, derailments, 528 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 10: and we've seen that. But then of course downstream there's 529 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 10: concerns about burning all of this spoiled duh, and the 530 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 10: impacts on climate change, but also impacts on the communities 531 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 10: around the refineries in the Gulf Coast Fort Arthur, Texas 532 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:22,360 Speaker 10: being as primary focus of this. So a variety of 533 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:27,200 Speaker 10: environmental issues typical of a major infrastructure project like this, 534 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:28,240 Speaker 10: and tell. 535 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 3: Us about the legal issue around the environmental impact study 536 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 3: for this railway. 537 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,480 Speaker 10: So this has to do with the scope of the 538 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 10: environmental impact statement that the Surface Transportation Board prepared for 539 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:47,160 Speaker 10: this project, and actually STB as it's called, get you 540 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:50,880 Speaker 10: know what you might consider a pretty thorough job. I mean, 541 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 10: it amounts to literally thousands of pages of analysis when 542 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,880 Speaker 10: you look at the whole administrative record. And they did 543 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 10: look at these upstream impacts of drilling and the downstream 544 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:07,320 Speaker 10: impacts of potential spills and the refinery, but they only 545 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:11,320 Speaker 10: did so to a certain level. And the DC circuit 546 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:14,600 Speaker 10: when this came to the DC Circuit for Review said, 547 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,920 Speaker 10: you know, STB, you get an okay job, but not 548 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,480 Speaker 10: good enough. You needed to delve more deeply into these 549 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:25,240 Speaker 10: upstream downstream issues than you did. So what it comes 550 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 10: down to is how much analysis does NEPA require when 551 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 10: you have an eighty eight mile project that is approved 552 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 10: by this agency DSTB. And how far beyond. 553 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 4: The footprint, if you will, of the. 554 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:43,400 Speaker 10: Project does NEPA require you to go when you're analyzing 555 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:47,920 Speaker 10: these more remote in time and distance problems. And that 556 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:50,920 Speaker 10: was the focus of the argument before the Supreme Court. 557 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,560 Speaker 3: Was there an answer to what kind of test would 558 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 3: work here? I mean, did anyone have that answer? 559 00:30:57,720 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 4: Yes? 560 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 10: Paul Clement, who's a farmer Listitor General of the United 561 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:02,600 Speaker 10: States for a while, so he's a. 562 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,400 Speaker 4: Very accomplished, seasoned Supreme. 563 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:09,240 Speaker 10: Court litigator, and frankly did a terrific job representing his clients, 564 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:12,000 Speaker 10: of course, who want to develop these oil reserves, and 565 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:16,040 Speaker 10: his tests which he offered and explained over and over again. 566 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 4: To the court. 567 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 10: He was up there for almost an hour being questioned 568 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:21,720 Speaker 10: by almost everybody on the bench, and his test was 569 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:25,320 Speaker 10: the following number one, you do take into account how 570 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:29,360 Speaker 10: remote in time and space. Are the impacts that you're 571 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 10: talking about? 572 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:30,680 Speaker 4: Number one? 573 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,920 Speaker 10: And number two, how many of those impacts are actually 574 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 10: within the jurisdiction and authority of the agency in question, 575 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,880 Speaker 10: namely STV. His answer to both of those was a, 576 00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:46,960 Speaker 10: the impacts, particularly the refinery impacts, which are five hundred 577 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:50,400 Speaker 10: miles away or more, are way too remote in time 578 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:53,479 Speaker 10: and distance and speculative in terms of what will actually 579 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:57,120 Speaker 10: happen and so forth, and they're subject to other agencies jurisdiction, 580 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 10: either state agencies or federal agencies. Another agency that's involved 581 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,360 Speaker 10: with rail safety, for example, So when you talk about 582 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,720 Speaker 10: the condition of the tracks and whether there's the potential 583 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 10: for spills, his argument is that's another agency's problem. 584 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 4: That's not StB's concern. 585 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 10: And refinery operations that's again that's subject to Texas state 586 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:20,760 Speaker 10: regulation for whatever that's worth, as well as you know 587 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:25,240 Speaker 10: EPA and other agencies. So on his remote in time 588 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:29,080 Speaker 10: and space argument, he said, these impacts that the DC 589 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,520 Speaker 10: Circuit found fault with are not required by NEPA. And 590 00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:35,360 Speaker 10: number two, he said, when you have these other agencies 591 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:39,440 Speaker 10: with responsibilities and STB does not have any authority to 592 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:43,800 Speaker 10: control these impacts, then NEPA doesn't require STB to have 593 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 10: to analyze them. What's the point he said of analyzing 594 00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:49,920 Speaker 10: all this to the nth degree when they can't do 595 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,200 Speaker 10: anything about it, And so that was his argument. 596 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:53,960 Speaker 3: Did the challengers have a test? 597 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,720 Speaker 10: Yeah, So the challengers said, well, first of all, NIPA 598 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:04,040 Speaker 10: has always require fired consideration of indirect effects, and these 599 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:07,600 Speaker 10: are foreseeable indirect effects. And there really wasn't a whole 600 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 10: lot of argument. Even Clement conceded, these are foreseeable impacts. 601 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:16,760 Speaker 10: They may be difficult to quantify, although the environmental advocates 602 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:19,440 Speaker 10: that they weren't difficult to quantify. I mean, you know 603 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,960 Speaker 10: how much oil is going to be extracted, and from 604 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:25,680 Speaker 10: that you can begin to calculate how much will be refined, 605 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 10: and what kind of spills might happen and so forth. 606 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,520 Speaker 4: You know, the environmental groups challenging. 607 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,160 Speaker 10: This project, I thought, we're able to say, look, what 608 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:37,200 Speaker 10: we're asking for here is not that unreasonable. It's not 609 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,240 Speaker 10: that different from what courts have required in the past. 610 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:43,320 Speaker 10: And it should still be the test here that you know, 611 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:47,200 Speaker 10: when the agency undertakes to do an analysis, it needs 612 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:48,280 Speaker 10: to do it right. 613 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:51,960 Speaker 3: But did it seem like justice is across the ideological 614 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:56,360 Speaker 3: spectrum had problems with the environmentalists position. 615 00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:59,760 Speaker 10: Here's what I would say as the bottom line, there's 616 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:03,920 Speaker 10: no support on the bench, either liberals or conservatives, to 617 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:05,320 Speaker 10: uphold the DC Circuit. 618 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:05,880 Speaker 4: That was clear. 619 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:08,800 Speaker 10: The liberal wing of the Bench asked as many difficult 620 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,520 Speaker 10: questions of the environmental advocate as did the conservative justices, 621 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:15,600 Speaker 10: in some cases even more aggressive, right, So they were 622 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 10: clearly signaling they were not going to be upholding the 623 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:22,240 Speaker 10: DC Circuit. And my reading is what they were really 624 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:25,160 Speaker 10: signaling to the rest of the conservative colleagues on the 625 00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:28,640 Speaker 10: Bench was, let's see if we can find a basis 626 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:33,280 Speaker 10: to overturn the DC Circuit's decision and allow this project 627 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,680 Speaker 10: to proceed that doesn't do any more damage to the 628 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:41,080 Speaker 10: NEPA process than quote is necessary to decide this case. 629 00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:43,799 Speaker 10: So that's what I'm going to be looking for, not 630 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:46,640 Speaker 10: what the outcome is. The outcome's clear. You know, NEPA 631 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,520 Speaker 10: has been in front of the Supreme Court fifteen different 632 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:53,399 Speaker 10: times and has lost every single time. This will make 633 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:56,880 Speaker 10: the sixteenth time that NPA will have lost in the 634 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:00,359 Speaker 10: Supreme Court. That seems foreordained to me. But the real 635 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 10: question is how broadly is the Court going to go 636 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:08,839 Speaker 10: in limiting the scope of NIPA analysis in a variety 637 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:11,880 Speaker 10: of other cases? This is just you know, one eighty 638 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,360 Speaker 10: eight mile rail line, right That NEPA applies to a 639 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:19,319 Speaker 10: huge number of federal actions, of course, So that's what 640 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:20,279 Speaker 10: I'm going to be looking for. 641 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 4: Will they write a. 642 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:25,880 Speaker 10: Narrow opinion, overturn the DC circuit, let this project be finished, 643 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:27,560 Speaker 10: and leave it the rest of it alone. 644 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 3: Pat, I want you to listen to what Justice Brett 645 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:34,439 Speaker 3: Kavanaugh said about deference to agencies being important here. 646 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:36,799 Speaker 9: It seems to me the deference of the courts has 647 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:41,520 Speaker 9: to be huge with respect to how the agencies think 648 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:44,719 Speaker 9: about the scope of what they're going to consider. And 649 00:35:45,080 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 9: it seems to be the problem that is crept in 650 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:51,879 Speaker 9: is conflating what the agency can do and should do 651 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 9: from what the role of the courts is here by 652 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,160 Speaker 9: the courts taking an overly aggressive role. 653 00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:00,239 Speaker 3: Correct me if I'm wrong. But wasn't Kavanaugh and the 654 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:03,840 Speaker 3: majority when the Court threw out the Chevron doctrine and 655 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:08,000 Speaker 3: deference to agencies interpretations of ambiguous statutes? 656 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,840 Speaker 10: Well, you know they all saying consistency is the hob 657 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:18,399 Speaker 10: goblin of small minds. So yeah, there's a little bit 658 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:22,960 Speaker 10: of inconsistency there, right, So we will defer to agencies 659 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:26,080 Speaker 10: when we like what they're doing, but not defer to 660 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:28,560 Speaker 10: them when we don't. I'm not going to go completely 661 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:32,120 Speaker 10: cynical on that, although I'm tempted, but certainly. 662 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 4: There's tension here between when you're going to give an 663 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:36,480 Speaker 4: agency difference and when you're not. 664 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:39,239 Speaker 10: You know, this is a gray area of Neva law, 665 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:41,960 Speaker 10: I have to say, and you know, reasonable people, I 666 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:44,960 Speaker 10: suppose can disagree about how far you should go. 667 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 3: And we'll find out by June just how far the 668 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,800 Speaker 3: court goes with respect to NIPA. Thanks so much, Pat. 669 00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:54,920 Speaker 3: That's Professor Pat Parento of the Remont Law and Graduate School. 670 00:36:55,239 --> 00:36:57,880 Speaker 3: And that's it for this edition of the Bloomberg Law Podcast. 671 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,439 Speaker 3: Remember you've can always get the latest lead the news 672 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:03,839 Speaker 3: by subscribing and listening to the show on Apple Podcasts, 673 00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:08,080 Speaker 3: Spotify and at Bloomberg dot com, Slash podcast, Slash Law. 674 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,080 Speaker 3: I'm June Grosso, and this is Bloomberg