An Insider’s View of the Hazleton Trial

Some readers may have following the Hazelton trial on the ACLS of Pennsylvania blog (here).  Jackson Chin offer, Associate Counsel, Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) provides summary of the case for The Jurist (here).  Among other things, Chin mentions the following:

“This federal lawsuit [Lozano et. al v. City of Hazleton] raises novel issues of law, e.g., whether municipal ordinances that seek to regulate and punish business and property owners who provide shelter to illegal aliens are federally preempted and violate the U.S. Constitution, and a host of federal statutes and state laws. The bench trial opened on Monday, March 12, 2007 in the Middle District Federal Court in Scranton before the Hon. James Munley; it is being monitored by courts in pending trials challenging similar anti-immigrant ordinances.”

“Plaintiffs’ trial counsel include: Denise Alvarez, Jackson Chin, Foster Maer (Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund), Shamaine Daniels (Community Law Project, Harrisburg), Witold “Viv” Walczak, Omar Jadwat (ACLU-Pa. and ACLU-IRP) and Thomas Wilkinson, Thomas Fiddler, and Ilan Rosenberg (Cozen O’Connor). Defendant’s trial counsel include Kris Kobach, Harry “Hank” Deasey, Drew Adair, and, Karla Maresca (Deasey Mahoney & Bender). Additional co-counsel for each side are named on the papers.”

KJ