Judah Lakin
partner
Judah’s practice focuses on removal defense, appeals, federal court litigation, detention issues, family-based immigration, and the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. He is co-class counsel in Aleman-Gonzalez v. Sessions, a class action case that mandates prolonged detention bond hearings for individuals detained pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6) in the Ninth Circuit, and in Zepeda Rivas v. Jennings, a class action that has successfully challenged immigration detention conditions in Northern California during the COVID-19 pandemic and led to the release of over a hundred individuals. Judah is also a lecturer at U. C. Berkeley School of Law, where he supervises law students representing noncitizens before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals through Berkeley Law’s Ninth Circuit Practicum.
Prior to starting Lakin & Wille LLP, Judah was an associate at Van Der Hout LLP. Prior to private practice, Judah clerked for the Honorable Richard A. Paez on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and before that, worked at Dolores Street Community Services’ Deportation Defense and Legal Advocacy Program.
In addition to his work as an immigration attorney, in 2018, Judah co-founded and now co-directs the Bay Area Immigration Bond Fund—a non-profit project that raises funds for incarcerated individuals who cannot afford their immigration bonds. To date, the Bay Area Immigration Bond Fund has helped secure the release of nearly 100 individuals from immigration incarceration.
Before attending law school, Judah was a secondary educator, where he primarily worked with students learning English. He spent eight years teaching high school students and coaching basketball and soccer. He is a published author, having co-authored a book and articles on strategies for teaching English learners.
Representative Cases
Ortiz Vargas v. Jennings, 2020 WL 5517277 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 14, 2020) (enjoining ICE from re-arresting or re-incarcerating petitioner unless and until a hearing is held before an Immigration Judge to determine whether any such detention would be statutorily authorized)
Mattson v. Wolf, 2020 WL 5249126 (9th Cir. Sept. 3, 2020) (holding that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services violated due process when it failed to disclose the evidence it had relied on in revoking a visa petition)
Valenzuela Gallardo v. Barr, 968 F.3d 1053 (9th Cir. 2020) (holding that the Board of Immigration Appeals’ definition of “obstruction of justice” contravenes Congress’s intent) (counsel for amici)
Zepeda Rivas v. Jennings, —F. Supp. 3d— (N.D. Cal. June 9, 2020) (granting motion for a preliminary injunction on behalf of all individuals incarcerated by immigration authorities in Mesa Verde and Yuba detention facilities, finding Plaintiffs likely to succeed on their claim that current conditions at the facilities violate their due process rights by unreasonably exposing them to a significant risk of harm)
Singh v. Barr, 812 F. App’x 572 (9th Cir. 2020) (granting a petition for review and remanding to the Board of Immigration Appeals to consider the petitioner’s motion to reopen under the correct legal standard)
Bahena Ortuno v. Jennings, 2020 WL 2218965 (N.D. Cal. May 7, 2020) (granting preliminary injunction finding that six medically vulnerable individuals were likely to suffer irreparable injury if not released during the COVID-19 pandemic)
Martinez Franco v. Jennings, 456 F. Supp. 3d 1193 (N.D. Cal. 2020) (ordering immigration authorities to provide individual with a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge)
Aleman Gonzalez v. Barr, 955 F.3d 762 (9th Cir. 2020) (affirming that individuals detained for six months under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6) are entitled to individualized bond hearings in the Ninth Circuit)
Ortega v. Bonnar, 415 F. Supp. 3d 963 (N.D. Cal. 2019) (enjoining ICE from re-arresting petitioner and holding that it would be a violation of due process to permit ICE to re-arrest petitioner without a hearing in front of a neutral adjudicator)
Sliusar v. Whitaker, 761 F. App’x 718 (9th Cir. 2019) (holding that an immigration judge must consider all of the documentary evidence in the record, regardless of its type, before ruling on requests for withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture protection even if she finds a related asylum application to be frivolous)
Aleman Gonzalez v. Sessions, 325 F.R.D. 616 (N.D. Cal. June 5, 2018) (ordering the government to provide prolonged detention bond hearings for all individuals detained pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6) in the Ninth Circuit)
Meza v. Bonnar, 2018 WL 2554572 (N.D. Cal. June 4, 2018) (enjoining ICE from re-arresting petitioner and holding that there are serious questions going to the merits of petitioner’s claim that the Constitution requires periodic bond hearings for noncitizens in removal proceedings who have been detained for lengthy periods and petitioner’s claim that she has a vested liberty interest in her conditional release such that she may not be re-detained absent due process).
Presentations & Publications
Panelist, Habeas Petitions for Detained Immigrants, Practising Law Institute (Nov. 25, 2019)
Practice Tips for Challenging Immigration Detention in the Wake of Jennings v. Rodriguez, PLI Current, Volume 2, No. 3 (Summer 2018)
San Francisco Steps Up for Refugees Fleeing Violence, San Francisco Examiner, (May 15, 2016)
Teaching Adolescent English Language Learners: Essential Strategies for English Language Learners (Caslon Publishing 2009)
Education
BERKELEY LAW
J.D., 2015
RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE
M.ED., Teaching English as a Second Language, 2009, with honors
BROWN UNIVERSITY
B.A., History, 2004, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
CLERKSHIP
Honorable Richard A. Paez, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Languages
Spanish
Bar Admissions
California
U.S. District Courts: Northern District of California, Central District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals: First Circuit, Ninth Circuit
United States Supreme Court