2019: Counsel of Record Against the Public-Charge Rule

FACT / DOCKET

On August 19, 2019, Julia Blau Spiegel entered an appearance as counsel for the County of Santa Clara in City and County of San Francisco v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, N.D. Cal. No. 4:19-cv-04717 — one of the suits challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s August 2019 public-charge rule. The Clearinghouse docket line is the primary: “NOTICE of Appearance by Julia Blau Spiegel (Spiegel, Julia) (Filed on 8/19/2019).”

The Ninth Circuit’s December 2, 2020 opinion in the related public-charge appeals lists “Julia B. Spiegel” among deputy county counsels for Santa Clara, with H. Luke Edwards argued. An earlier December 2019 panel listing does the same. Stanford’s instructor biography later says she “filed the nation’s first lawsuit successfully blocking a federal rule that punished immigrants for their public benefit use.” That is her bio’s characterization. The docket fact is narrower: she appeared for the county against the Trump-era rule. Biden later abandoned the rule. A counsel listing is not a statute and not a crime.

Sources

Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. City and County of San Francisco v. USCIS, 4:19-cv-04717. Appearance by Julia Blau Spiegel, Aug. 19, 2019. clearinghouse.net

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Opinion, Dec. 2, 2020, Nos. 19-17213 et al. Counsel listing: Julia B. Spiegel, deputy county counsel, Santa Clara. PDF. cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov

City and County of San Francisco v. USCIS, 944 F.3d 773 (9th Cir. 2019). Counsel listing includes Julia B. Spiegel. leagle.com

Stanford ExploreCourses. Instructor bio: “nation’s first lawsuit” public-benefits line. Her bio, not a court caption. explorecourses.stanford.edu

Clearinghouse person page. Also lists California v. DHS and New York v. Trump (amicus). clearinghouse.net/person/7788

Opinion

The following is commentary by this site. It is not a finding of fact and not a legal conclusion.

Compiler take

First the sanctuary order. Then the public-charge rule. Same county shop. Same name on the brief. The Trump immigration file, California chapter. Not invented.