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Azar v. Garza
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided June 4, 2018
Full case nameAlex Azar, II, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al. v. Rochelle Garza, as guardian ad litem to unaccompanied minor J. D.
Docket no.17-654
Citations584U.S.___ (more)
Case history
PriorTemporary restraining order granted,Garza v. Hargan,No. 1:17-cv–02122(D.D.C.Oct. 18, 2017);vacated in part,D.C. Cir., Oct. 19, 2017;vacated and remanded,874 F. 3d 735(D.C. Cir. 2017) (en banc)
Holding
Judgment below should be vacated and remanded with a direction to dismiss when a federal civil case has become moot while on its way to the Supreme Court.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Anthony Kennedy·Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg·Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito·Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan·Neil Gorsuch
Case opinion
Per curiam
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV

Garza v. Hargan(Azar v. GarzaafterAlex Azar's confirmation asUnited States Secretary of Health and Human Services) is a case before theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuitregarding a juvenileundocumented immigrantin the custody ofU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementwho sought to have anabortion.[1][2][3]

Background

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In early September 2017, a seventeen-year-oldJane Doe,was apprehended after illegally crossing theMexico–United States borderintoTexas.[4]: 1812 As an unaccompanied minor, Jane was placed into care of theOffice of Refugee Resettlement.[4]: 1813 Jane, who was then eight weeks pregnant, was sent to an ORR funded shelter where she decided to have an abortion.[4]: 1813 A Texas judge granted Jane a judicial bypass to the state'sparental consentlaw and allowed her to seek an abortion on September 25, 2017.[4]: 1813 

The ORR refused to allow Jane to leave the shelter to have her abortion.[4]: 1813 In March 2017, new ORR Director Scott Lloyd had forbid federally funded shelters from taking "any action that facilitates" an abortion without his express approval.[4]: 1813 [5]Jane'sguardian ad litem,Rochelle Garza, then sued the ActingUnited States Secretary of Health and Human Services,Eric Hargan,in theUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia,alleging that the government was violating Jane's constitutional right to anabortion in the United States.[4]: 1813 

On October 18, 2017, U.S. District JudgeTanya S. Chutkangranted Jane's request for atemporary restraining order,ordering the government to allow Jane to leave the shelter to attend the pre-abortion counseling required by Texas law and to undergo the abortion.[6][4]: 1813 On October 20, a panel of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuitgranted the government's emergency motion tostayJudge Chutkan's order.[4]: 1813 In anunsigned orderby Circuit JudgesBrett KavanaughandKaren L. Henderson,the court allowed ORR to keep Jane from leaving its shelter to undergo an abortion until October 31, provided that the government "expeditiously" placed Jane in an outside sponsor's custody.[4]: 1814 Circuit JudgePatricia Millettwrote a dissent in which she argued the majority was imposing an undue burden on abortion in violation ofWhole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt(2016).[4]: 1814 

On October 24, the fullen bancD.C. Circuit reversed the panel majority, reimposing the district court order requiring the government to grant Jane access to an abortion.[7][4]: 1815 Judge Millet added a concurrence reiterating the arguments in her earlier dissent.[4]: 1815 Judge Henderson dissented, arguing that an undocumented immigrant is not a "person" under theUnited States Constitutionand so does not have rights under theDue Process Clause.[4]: 1815 Judge Kavanaugh, joined by Judges Henderson andThomas B. Griffith,dissented, defending the panel decision.[4]: 1815 That day, District Judge Chutkan amended her order to allow Jane's abortion to proceed "promptly and without delay".[4]: 1815 Jane had her pregnancy aborted on October 25.[4]: 1815 

Supreme Court

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On November 3, 2017, theSolicitor General of the United States,Noel Francisco,petitioned theSupreme Court of the United Statesfor a writ ofcertiorarito vacate the D.C. Circuit's ruling and moved for sanctions against Jane's lawyers at theAmerican Civil Liberties Union.[8]Francisco accusedDavid D. Coleof professional misconduct for not informing the Justice Department that Jane's abortion procedure had been rescheduled to earlier than anticipated.[8]According to Francisco, this wrongfully prevented the government from seeking an emergency order from the Supreme Court blocking the procedure.[8]

On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court granted review andvacatedthe judgment on the ground that the claim forinjunctive reliefgranted by the lower court had becomemootwhen the girl followed through with the abortion. Vacating the lower court decision prevents it from having any value asprecedent.[9][10]The Court did not grant the government's request for sanctions against Jane's attorneys.[11]The opinion was unsigned.

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On December 18, 2017, Judge Chutkan granted relief to two additional pregnant girls in ORR care who had sued for access to an abortion.[12]On March 30, 2018, Judge Chutkan certified the pregnant girls' lawsuit as aclass actionand ordered the government to provide access to abortions to all girls in ORR's custody.[13]

Further reading

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References

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  1. ^"A Federal Appeals Court Just Ruled That An Undocumented Teen Can Get An Abortion".BuzzFeed.Archivedfrom the original on October 25, 2017.RetrievedOctober 24,2017.
  2. ^"Abortion decision for undocumented 17-year-old in US custody delayed".ABC News.October 21, 2017.Archivedfrom the original on October 24, 2017.RetrievedOctober 24,2017.
  3. ^Sacchetti, Maria; Marimow, Ann E. (October 20, 2017)."Appeals court delays abortion for undocumented teen; gives government time to find her a sponsor".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.Archivedfrom the original on October 25, 2017.RetrievedOctober 24,2017.
  4. ^abcdefghijklmnopqNote,Recent Case: En Banc D.C. Circuit Upholds Order Requiring HHS to Allow an Undocumented Minor to Have an Abortion,131Harv. L. Rev.1812 (2018).
  5. ^Peters, Jeremy W.(5 April 2018)."Under Trump, an Office Meant to Help Refugees Enters the Abortion Wars".The New York Times.p. A1.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2018.Retrieved18 June2018.
  6. ^Garza v. Hargan,No. 1:17-cv-02122(D.D.C.Oct. 18, 2017).
  7. ^Garza v. Hargan,874 F.3d 735(D.C. Cir.2017).
  8. ^abcLiptak, Adam(3 November 2017)."Justice Department Accuses A.C.L.U. of Misconduct in Abortion Case".The New York Times.p. A10.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2018.Retrieved18 June2018.
  9. ^Azar v. Garcia,584 U. S. ____ (2018).
  10. ^"Azar v. Garza".Oyez.Archivedfrom the original on August 1, 2018.RetrievedAugust 3,2018.
  11. ^Liptak, Adam (4 June 2018)."Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Discipline A.C.L.U."The New York Times.p. A14.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2018.Retrieved18 June2018.
  12. ^Astor, Maggie (18 December 2017)."2 Undocumented Teenagers Must Be Allowed Abortions, Judge Rules".The New York Times.p. A14.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2018.Retrieved18 June2018.
  13. ^Stevens, Matt (31 March 2018)."Judge Temporarily Stops U.S. From Blocking Undocumented Teenagers' Abortions".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2018.Retrieved18 June2018.
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