Stephen A. Higginson is a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, where he has served since 2011. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Massachusetts and Louisiana and taught at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.
We have documented 1 statement by Stephen A. Higginson, in 1 case. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.
Role at the time: Fifth Circuit judge, in a separate dissent
Condemned
Statement summary
Higginson argues that the court should revisit its statutory interpretation and avoid unnecessary constitutional conflicts. He distinguishes detention of people already inside the country from admission at its threshold and argues that immigration power remains subject to constitutional limits.
“The Constitution does not drop away from executive detention simply because that detention relates to immigration.”
Read the original text (opens in a new tab)Fifth Circuit en banc opinion in Sosnava Rodriguez v. Vergara · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitEn banc opinion; Southwick dissent on printed pages 100-131, followed by Haynes dissent
Why we used this label
The author opposes denying the individual detention hearing at issue.
The Fifth Circuit rejects three detainees' constitutional claims to individualized bond hearings. The en banc decision divides the judges over what due process requires during removal proceedings; dissenters argue that detention needs more justification.
