De Bernardo v. Rogers
| Decision Date | 27 March 1958 |
| Docket Number | No. 13767.,13767. |
| Parties | Anthony J. DE BERNARDO, Appellant, v. William P. ROGERS, Attorney General of the United States, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Mr. David Carliner, Washington, D. C., with whom Mr. Jack Wasserman, Washington, D. C., was on the brief, for appellant.
Mr. John W. Kern, III, Asst. U. S. Atty., with whom Messrs. Oliver Gasch, U. S. Atty., and Lewis Carroll, Asst. U. S. Atty., were on the brief, for appellee.
Before PRETTYMAN, WILBUR K. MILLER and BASTIAN, Circuit Judges.
Anthony J. DeBernardo, a native of Italy, was brought by his parents to the United States when he was two years old, arriving in New York June 15, 1912. Admitted then to permanent residence, he has lived in this country continuously since that time.
When he was scarcely more than 21, DeBernardo had been twice sentenced to imprisonment for criminal offenses by New York state courts: in 1927, to a term of not more than three years on a plea of guilty to unlawful entry; and in 1931, to a term of 15 years for armed robbery.
In February, 1932, a warrant of arrest for deportation was issued by the Assistant Secretary of Labor charging appellant was deportable under § 19 of the Immigration Act of 19171 in that he had been sentenced to imprisonment more than once for a term of one year or more for crimes involving moral turpitude committed after his entry into the United States. Pursuant to a hearing at Sing Sing Prison, a deportation order was entered May 12, 1932, but deportation was deferred until DeBernardo should be released from imprisonment. Later in 1932 he escaped from Sing Sing but was soon recaptured; and on September 4 of that year was sentenced to an additional term of 15 years for robbery committed during the brief time he was at large.
July 30, 1952, the Board of Immigration Appeals vacated the deportation order entered in 1932 and reopened the hearing for the receipt of evidence as to whether under New York law unlawful entry involves moral turpitude. The reopened hearing began September 12, 1952, but was immediately recessed so DeBernardo could obtain counsel. When the reopened hearing was reconvened February 5, 1953, nearly five months later, appellant advised the hearing officer that neither he nor his family had money with which to retain counsel, so that he was still unrepresented. The hearing nevertheless proceeded, and during the course of it another charge was lodged against the appellant based on his robbery conviction in 1932, following his escape from Sing Sing. February 25, 1953, an order of deportation was entered which was affirmed by the Board of Immigration Appeals July 2 of...
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...The cases cited in support of the proposition that the harmless error test is applicable are not controlling here.In De Bernardo v. Rogers, 102 U.S.App.D.C. 382, 254 F.2d 81, cert. denied, 358 U.S. 816, 79 S.Ct. 24, 3 L.Ed.2d 58 (1958), an action for a declaratory judgment as to deportabili......
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Henriques v. IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION SERV., BD. OF IMM. APP.
...can be said to have resulted from the absence of counsel. This being true, the hearing below was not invalid. De Bernardo v. Rogers, 102 U.S.App.D.C. 382, 254 F.2d 81, cert. denied, 358 U.S. 816, 79 S.Ct. 24, 3 L.Ed.2d 58 (1958); Madokoro v. Del Guercio, 160 F.2d 164, 166-167 (9th Cir.), ce......
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Burquez v. Immigration and Naturalization Service
...without counsel is not considered a denial of due process, if he does not show that he was prejudiced thereby. De Bernardo v. Rogers, 102 U.S.App.D.C. 382, 254 F.2d 81 (1958), cert. denied 358 U.S. 816, 79 S.Ct. 24, 3 L.Ed.2d 58 Deportation hearings have long been considered administrative ......