When a judge decides against a person's interest in a case, a person has an opportunity to appeal that decision to a higher court; in other words, to ask another judge to review the decision.  The rules to appeal a case are excessively complicated and involve a great deal of legal detail.  Finding solutions to your appellate case is making this process understandable to a client.  

 

The Firm represents clients before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Juan has argued several cases bore the Ninth Circuit.  His appellate advocacy has resulted in published opinions and their impact has extended beyond his client.  In United States v. Aguilar-Reyes, for example, the Ninth Circuit held that Arizona’s definition of “alien smuggling” was over-broad--meaning it criminalized more conduct than the federal government's definition of the same phrase.  The court's decision in that case has benefited scores of noncitizens by reducing their federal prison sentence and limiting the federal government from civilly prosecuting non U.S. citizens.  

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We also assist clients that want to appeal their immigration case to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and file petitions for review--a type of appeal from the immigration judge to a federal appeals court.  Juan has been successful in obtaining remands from both the Ninth Circuit and the BIA for clients in appellate proceedings.  

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Our office also represents clients seeking post-conviction relief (PCR) in an Arizona court.  Juan has successfully represented clients in PCR cases in which it was established that the client received ineffective assistance of counsel or was not competent to enter into a plea agreement with the government.