SUNTHARALINKAM v. KEISLER
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an order in SUNTHARALINKAM v. KEISLER, No. 04-70258, an administrative appeal. The panel consisted of Mary M. Schroeder, Chief Judge, Stephen Reinhardt, Alex Kozinski, Pamela Ann Rymer, Andrew J. Kleinfeld, Michael Daly Hawkins, Sidney R. Thomas, Barry G. Silverman, M. Margaret McKeown, Richard A. Paez, Marsha S. Berzon, Richard R. Clifton, Jay S. Bybee, Consuelo M. Callahan, and Sandra S. Ikuta, Circuit Judges.
The order for publication filed October 18, 2007, is hereby withdrawn and replaced with the attached order for publication. The dissent remains as originally filed. *Peter D. Keisler is substituted for his predecessor, Alberto R. Gonzales, as Acting Attorney General of the United States, pursuant to Fed. R. App. P. 43(c)(2). 14287 . . .
KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge, with whom Judges KLEINFELD, CLIFTON and CALLAHAN join, dissenting:
My colleagues dismiss the petition for review by relying on a nine-line motion, filed almost a month after this case was argued and submitted, which says nothing more than that petitioner has suddenly lost interest in the case. Granting the motion in such circumstances casts aside the time and effort of the 15-judge en banc panel, as well as the time and effort of the full court in considering whether to take the case en banc in the first place. It also threatens the integrity of our processes by inviting manipulation by parties unhappy with the questions at oral argument and fearful of the result they believe the court is going to reach. Worse still, by allowing counsel to dismiss the petition without requiring confirmation from the client that he wishes to abandon the petition for review, we put petitioner’s rights in jeopardy and leave the door open to future litigation as to whether counsel’s representations can bind the client. 1. The motion the court grants today was filed on July 12, 2007, 24 days after oral argument, which was held on June 18, 2007. It reads as follows, in its entirety:
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