Decision expected today on Relief Act

HAZLETON – Attorneys representing both sides in the city’s highly publicized Illegal Immigration Relief Act lawsuit expect that the federal judge presiding in the case will issue his decision today.

Kris Kobach, one of the lead attorneys for the city, said U.S. District Court Judge James Munley’s office called attorneys Wednesday afternoon to inform them that he would probably issue a decision this afternoon.

“We appreciate having a day’s heads up. It makes it possible for attorneys from across the country to get there,” Kobach said from his office in Kansas City, Kan.

The city has scheduled a press conference for 4 p.m. at City Hall in anticipation of the judge’s decision, according to Mayor Lou Barletta’s secretary, Cherie Homa.

Sara Mullen, associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, also said a decision was expected today, and that her organization would have a teleconference for the media two hours after the decision is issued.

The ACLU and other civil rights organizations and individuals sued the city in August 2006, claiming the Relief Act ordinance was unconstitutional. The ordinance would fine landlords and suspend the licenses of businesses that house or employ illegal immigrants.

Both sides have been waiting for a decision since a nine-day trial in March at the federal courthouse in Scranton.

Munley had previously told attorneys he would give them two days notice before he issued his decision so they could prepare to handle inquiries from the media. The trial and the national debate that preceded and followed it has received national media coverage.

Asked why Munley changed his mind about the two-day advance notice, a court administrator would only say the judge is not required to provide a reason.

Dr. Agapito Lopez, a Latino community leader from Hazleton and one of the most outspoken critics of Barletta’s Relief Act ordinance, said an attorney told him Munley changed his mind about the two-day notice “for security reasons.”

Lopez had sent out e-mails on Wednesday seeking leaders of Latino organizations and others opposed to the ordinance to speak at the federal courthouse in Scranton after Munley’s decision is released.

Lopez said that because Munley is not expected to be in the Scranton courthouse today, a group of people he has organized will instead hold a press conference in Hazleton.

Attorneys from Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre, representatives of Latino organizations from across Northeastern Pennsylvania, and others will meet at the Crystal Barbeque restaurant and bar for a press conference there at 3 p.m., Lopez said.

ON THE WEB

Check www.timesleader.com this afternoon for breaking news on U.S. District Judge James Munley’s decision in the Illegal Immigration Relief Act case.

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Hazleton leaders, supporters on both sides of the issue prepare for the judge’s ruling.

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