Moscoso v. Joyce

Document and request

The provided text is a letter from counsel for Elmer Moscoso to Judge P. Kevin Castel. Counsel asks for permission to file one additional exhibit in support of Moscoso’s petition challenging his custody, with limited redactions. The exhibit is identified as an immigration judge’s written decision concerning Moscoso’s custody redetermination.

Arguments about redaction

Counsel argues that one paragraph of the immigration judge’s decision gives detailed descriptions of allegations from a police report. The letter states that allegations concerning a 2019 incident were dismissed and that allegations concerning a June 2020 incident were never proven. These are descriptions of counsel’s position in the filing, not findings made in the provided text by Judge Castel.

Counsel contends that the redactions would protect Moscoso’s privacy interest in avoiding public disclosure of unproven and uncorroborated allegations while preserving public access to the rest of the decision. The proposed redactions would cover only one paragraph and would leave visible the preliminary charges Moscoso faced, his plea agreement, and the immigration judge’s decision and reasoning. The letter cites federal appellate decisions discussing public access to court records and privacy interests, as well as cases concerning contested police reports.

Government’s position

The letter states that the government takes no position on the request to seal. It also states that the government disagrees with counsel’s characterization of Moscoso’s criminal history.

Disposition

The provided text does not contain an order or ruling by Judge Castel. It therefore does not show whether the request to file the exhibit with redactions was granted, denied, or otherwise resolved.