Federal judge holds government in civil contempt for not imaging immigration agents' personal phones

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Set us as preferred A California federal judge held the Trump Administration in civil contempt for violating a court order requiring them to forensically image personal phones used by agents present at 15 identified immigration operations.U.S.District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered the government to pay $500 per day until they fully comply with a January 16 order from a magistrate judge regarding the imaging of the phones.“Upon review of the parties’ submissions and counsel’s representations at the hearing, it does not appear that Defendants’ noncompliance is due to an inability to comply,” Frimpong said in her order.

“Instead, the clear and convincing evidence shows that Defendants have acted intentionally and not in good faith.The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.A Justice Department lawyer filed a notice indicating the government had submitted a $3,500 payment on Tuesday.Frimpong’s July 28 order, which was unsealed Tuesday, stems from a class action lawsuit filed last year by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Public Counsel, other groups and private attorneys calling to end unlawful stops and arrests and for the protection of due process and access to counsel rights for people in immigration detention.As part of the lawsuit, U.S.

Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym had ordered the government in January to forensically image any cell phones used by agents during specific operations.In May, the plaintiffs in the case asked the court to order the government to prove why they should not be held in contempt over the failure to image a single personal phone since Pym’s order.Frimpong ordered the government to reimburse the plaintiffs and organizations that brought the lawsuit for the time and costs spent ...