Eleventh Circuit Decisions -- April 10, 2007

The Eleventh Circuit posted two decisions today:  In Usmani v. U.S. Attorney General (a "screener" or nonargument case), the Eleventh Circuit decided a statutory immigration issue -- and a question of first impression in this circuit -- ruling, perhaps unsurprisingly, in favor of the government's discretion under 8 U.S.C. 1255(i) and against the Pakistani citizen seeking to avoid removal.

Also, the Court sua sponte vacated its previous opinion in C.P. v. Leon County School Board, a case interpreting the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), substituting a new opinion in its place. Usually this happens when other members of the Court have reviewed an opinion and internally requested the panel to modify the opinion -- and unlike motions for reconsideration by a party, there is no real hard and fast deadline for such a modification.  Here, it appears that the Court was not comfortable with the original opinion's discussion of the fact-intensive question of whether the school board provided "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) during the time in question, and preferred to rely solely on the fact that the school board was obligated to maintain the status quo during that time period in any event. (Compare opinions starting at page 15.) Nevertheless, this should not be a rude surprise for either party, because the bottom line remains the same: affirmed.