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Doe v. Office of Refugee Resettlement

Facts

In late January 2018, Jane Doe, a pregnant minor in ORR custody, expressed a desire to obtain an abortion. She was referred to attorneys who filed for a judicial bypass in state court. However, ORR did not produce her for the hearing and later claimed she no longer wished to proceed with the abortion, providing handwritten notes from Jane Doe to support this claim. The state court appointed guardians for Jane Doe and ordered her production for the bypass hearing, which ORR contested by seeking removal to federal court.

It is undisputed that Jane Doe at one point requested assistance to access the state courts, and state-appointed counsel proceeded on this basis. But ORR asserts, and substantiates with Jane Doe's own words in the form of two handwritten notes, that Jane Doe has since changed her mind and no longer wishes to proceed with an abortion.

Issue

The main legal issue was whether the Office of Refugee Resettlement had a valid federal defense to the state court order requiring the production of Jane Doe for a judicial bypass hearing regarding her abortion.

The issue giving rise to removal here is not a clash of powerthe power of the state court order to require production of Jane Doe and the power of ORR to refuse to do so. Rather, the narrow issue is whether ORR possesses a valid federal defense to the state court order by 'ensuring that the interests of the child are considered in decisions and actions relating to the care and custody of an unaccompanied alien child,' or, on the other hand, whether it is, in fact, blocking what no party disputes is Jane Doe's ability to exercise her constitutional right to pursue an abortion.

Rule

The court applied the principles of federal removal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1442, which allows for the removal of civil actions against federal officers or agencies, and assessed whether the state court's order conflicted with federal obligations regarding the care of unaccompanied alien minors.

ORR filed its notice of removal under 28 U.S.C. 1442, which authorizes the removal of any civil action commenced in state court 'that is against or directed to . . . [t]he United States or any agency thereof.'

Analysis

The court analyzed whether the state court's order to produce Jane Doe for the bypass hearing was consistent with her stated wishes and whether ORR's refusal to comply constituted a valid federal defense. The court emphasized that the resolution hinged on Jane Doe's current wishes regarding the abortion, which needed to be determined through a hearing.

Thus, the simple path to resolution of this dispute is, as the government suggests, to vacate the district court's order and to remand to the district court so that it may conduct a hearing to resolve the question of whether Jane Doe presently wishes to pursue an abortion.

Conclusion

The court vacated the district court's order and remanded the case for a hearing to resolve the factual issue of whether Jane Doe wished to pursue an abortion, instructing that if she did not wish to proceed, the case should be dismissed.

We VACATE the remand order of the district court and REMAND the case to the district court for resolution of the disputed factual issues.

Who won?

The court's decision to vacate the district court's order and remand for further proceedings favored the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as it allowed them to contest the state court's order based on Jane Doe's wishes.

The court's decision to vacate the district court's order and remand for further proceedings favored the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as it allowed them to contest the state court's order based on Jane Doe's wishes.

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