Pending cases

Martinez Viguerias v. Bondi (10th Cir.) (pending)

Petition for review of Board of Immigration Appeals decision in case of longtime U.S. resident facing deportation to Mexico, where an immigration judge said he was likely to face torture.

Hyman v. McHenry (S.D. Ind.) (pending)

Court-appointed representation of inmate in Section 1983 suit alleging inadequate medical care.

Ochoa v. Oddo (W.D. Pa. 2025) (pending)

Challenge to unlawful ICE detention of longtime U.S. resident who had been granted bond by an immigration judge, an order unlawfully ignored by ICE.

Misirbekov v. Venegas (S.D. Tex. 2025) (pending)

Petition for writ of habeas corpus in case of Kyrgyz political dissident who was granted withholding of removal by an immigration judge, but who has remained detained for an unconstitutionally prolonged period by ICE.

Matter of E- R- V- (BIA 2025) (pending)

Appeal in case where bond was denied to long-time U.S. resident under provision mandating detention for “arriving aliens”.

Brainard v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (E.D. Va.) (pending)

Challenge under the Administrative Procedure Act to issuance of a permit authorizing destruction of federally protected wetlands in Northern Virginia.

Templeton v. Parks (W.D. Wis.) (pending)

Court-appointed representation of prisoner in Section 1983 deliberate indifference case in which the county jail deliberately put him in a cell with a tuberculosis patient and denied him a face mask or sanitary supplies, resulting in his contracting the disease.

Matter of F- R- B- B- (BIA 2025) (pending)

Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals in case of transgender indigenous Guatemalan whose due process rights were violated by the immigration court’s failure to record or transcribe her hearing, and whose claims of sexual abuse by Guatemalan police were ignored by the immigration judge.

Riddick v. Miller (W.D. Va.) (pending)

Representation of inmate in Section 1983 deliberate indifference case alleging jail officials ignored threats to his life, resulting in his being stabbed and nearly murdered.

Mooney v. Collins (Vet. App. 2025) (pending)

Pro bono representation of veteran in disability appeal to U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Brown v. Daughtry (E.D. Wis.) (pending)

Court-appointed pro bono representation in Section 1983 deliberate indifference case where jail medical staff ignored the plaintiff’s complaints of excruciating pain from a bullet lodged in his brain and delayed referral to a specialist for nearly 18 months.

Harvey v. Martinez (D. Colo.) (pending)

Court-appointed pro bono representation of prisoner plaintiff in Section 1983 civil rights case alleging excessive force when jail staff tased and assaulted him while he was having a medical crisis.

Andrews v. Collins (Vet. App.) (pending)

Appeal to the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals on behalf of Army veteran wrongly denied disability benefits, where the VA’s medical opinions were contradictory and incompetent.

Eaton v. Carroll, et al. (E.D. Wis.) (pending)

Court-appointed representation of inmate in Section 1983 action alleging police conducted a warrantless blood draw in violation of the 4th and 14th amendments.

Moore v. Chase (E.D. Wis. 2025) (pending)

Court-appointed habeas representation of client claiming wrongful conviction and alleging ineffective assistance of counsel.

Selected past cases

A.H. v. Hedalen (D. Mont. 2025)

Putative class action suit against Montana governor and superintendent of education alleging denial of educational opportunities to students with disabilities under the IDEA. Co-counsel with Disability Rights Montana and the Barbara McDowell Social Justice Center. Judgment entered in plaintiffs’ favor in August 2025.

Matter of T- S- (BIA 2025)

Successful appeal to Board of Immigration Appeals on behalf of Chadian refugee, a member of an opposition political party threatened with death by Chad security officials.

Sonko v. Bondi, 2025 WL 1662749 (E.D. Va. 2025)

Successful habeas corpus challenge to 28-month ICE detention of noncitizen from The Gambia.

Matter of S- V- (BIA 2025)

Won appeal on behalf of Russian refugee where DHS appealed the immigration judge’s grant of withholding of removal based on his political viewpoint.

Moore v. Schmelzle (E.D. Wis.)

Court-appointed representation of inmate in Section 1983 suit alleging that prison officials forced him to sleep in feces-soiled sheets for five days and violated his rights under the ADA. Settled May 2025.

Olajuwon v. Ofogh (E.D. Va.)

Court-appointed representation of inmate in Section 1983 suit against jail dentist, alleging deliberate indifference to a serious medical need, when the jail dentist failed to refer him to a specialist for his oral cancer. Case settled March 2025.

Matter of M- C- M- C- (BIA 2025)

Successfully represented noncitizen who had been raped at gunpoint by a Mexican prosecutor’s office official in Board of Immigration Appeals case where DHS appealed the immigration court’s grant of relief under the Convention Against Torture.

Matter of K- I- (BIA 2025)

Successful representation of noncitizen on claims of withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture, stemming from anti-LGBT persecution in Tajikistan and Russia.

Matter of J- E- O- (BIA 2025)

Successful appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, terminating deportation proceedings and restoring noncitizen’s wrongfully canceled lawful permanent resident status.

Cooper v. Hunter (Vet. App. 2025), 2025 WL 325553

Successful appeal to U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims from decision of the Board of Veterans Appeals in case where VA breached its statutory duty to assist under 38 U.S.C. §5103A.

Martinez Viguerias v. Ceja, 760 F. Supp. 3d 1188 (D. Colo. 2024)

Successful habeas corpus action under 28 U.S.C. 2241 challenging 640-day confinement without a bond hearing of noncitizen suffering from mental illness.

Baskerville v. McDonough (Vet. App. 2024)

Successful appeal of VA denial of benefits to surviving spouse of Vietnam War veteran exposed to Agent Orange.

Matter of M- K- (BIA 2024)

Successful appeal to BIA in case of noncitizen with schizophrenia ordered removed by the Immigration Court.

Matter of M-R-H- (BIA 2024)

Successful appeal to Board of Immigration Appeals in case where the immigration court found a domestic violence survivor ineligible for cancellation of removal under the Violence Against Women Act because of the court’s erroneous belief that Colorado does not recognize common-law marriage.

Valancourt Books, LLC v. Garland, 82 F.4th 1222 (D.C. Cir. 2023)

Co-counsel (with the Institute for Justice) in successful challenge to mandatory deposit provision of the Copyright Act, which worked an unconstitutional taking under the 5th Amendment by requiring publishers to give free books to the government on pain of fines.

Wilson v. Midland County, 89 F. 4th 446 (5th Cir. 2023)

Authored amicus curiae brief on behalf of libertarian group calling for the 5th Circuit to take a narrow reading of Heck v. Humphrey, the Supreme Court case that makes it nearly impossible to challenge unconstitutional convictions through Section 1983 suits. My brief was refiled in the U.S. Supreme Court by Cato Institute (without credit or attribution).

Tiwari v. Friedlander, 143 S.Ct. 444 (2022)

Authored SCOTUS amicus curiae brief on behalf of six law & economics experts in this challenge to Kentucky’s certificate-of-need law, which essentially prevents competition in the healthcare industry for no reason other than to benefit incumbent businesses.

Shelton v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 481 B.R. 22 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 2012)

Federal suit on behalf of a low-income homeowner alleging wrongful foreclosure by Wells Fargo. The complaint alleged novel theories for breach of contract and violation of Missouri’s UDAP statute, which survived a motion to dismiss in a published decision that another court has said is “often cited.”

Linningham v. Reaper Investment Properties, LLC, 2012 WL 917710 (W.D. Mo. 2012)

Federal lawsuit on behalf of two elderly women who lost their homes as part of a fraudulent foreclosure rescue scam, resulting in a judgment of $2.1 million.

Mgr. of Rev. of Jackson Cty. v. Fikes, 341 S.W. 3d 705 (Mo. App. 2011)

Successfully set aside a tax sale of an indigent defendant’s home on the grounds of constructive fraud, despite county’s arguments that the house wasn’t “sold,” but merely transferred to a land trust. A Missouri Lawyers Weekly article said the “[d]ecision appears to be first to hold land trusts to [the] same standards as private buyers.”

Queen v. ECMC, 461 B.R. 57 (W.D. Mo. 2011)

Successful appeal from the U. S. Bankruptcy Court in a novel case which stretched the provision allowing for a closed bankruptcy case to be reopened “at any time,” in this case, reopening a 21-year-old case to discharge a debtor’s student loans. The Bankruptcy Court dismissed, but on appeal the U. S. District Court reversed.

Prison Legal News v. Shawnee County, 2:11-CV-02497 (D. Kan. 2011)

Co-counsel (with ACLU of Kansas & Western Missouri) in successful First Amendment suit against Kansas jail for policies unlawfully banning prisoner mail.

Blanks v. Faulkner, Case No. SC91275 (Mo. 2011)

Constitutional challenge to Missouri statute that permitted streamlined remedy for child custody violations for divorced parents, but not for parents of children born out of wedlock, on the grounds that it discriminated on the basis of illegitimacy. Briefed and argued before Missouri Supreme Court, but dismissed for mootness afterwards when the mother and father settled the dispute.

West v. Valley Center, Kansas, 2:10-CV-02567 (D. Kan. 2010)

Co-counsel (with ACLU of Kansas & Western Missouri) in successful First Amendment suit against Kansas town that pursued criminal charges against a resident for his yard sign criticizing the town government.