In a decision that is shockingly sensible, a three judge panel of the notorious Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in San Francisco has ruled that illegal immigrant children are not entitled to free legal representation, funded by taxpayers, in trying to legalize their status. Maura Dolan writes in the Los Angeles Times: A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an immigration judge's decision to deny asylum to a minor identified as C.J.L.G., who left Honduras at age 13 after being threatened by gangs. The boy did not have a lawyer, and his mother was unable to find free legal help. The 9th Circuit said federal law did not guarantee paid lawyers for children in immigration court and that the teenage boy failed to show that he needed a lawyer to safeguard his rights. "Mandating free court-appointed counsel could further strain an already overextended immigration system," wrote Judge Consuelo M. Callahan, who was appointed by...(Read Full Post)