DHS Lawyer James Percival Attacks Judge in Migrant Case as Homicide Charges Fuel Dispute
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 13
DHS Lawyer James Percival Attacks Judge in Migrant Case as Homicide Charges Fuel Dispute
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 13
James Percival, DHS’s general counsel, publicly called Rhode Island Judge Melissa DuBose an “activist” and said the Trump administration was justified in withholding information in a migrant detention case.
The clash followed DuBose’s referral of a government lawyer for possible discipline after he admitted not telling her that detainee Bryan Rafael Gomez faced homicide charges in the Dominican Republic.
Percival argued DuBose had no valid basis to review Gomez’s custody status, despite federal judges handling hundreds of similar detention challenges nationwide.
The fight adds to a broader Trump-era confrontation with the judiciary, as administration allies have increasingly launched personal attacks on judges amid rising threats against federal jurists.
Is public criticism of judges a necessary check on power or a direct threat to judicial independence?
When lawyers are ordered to conceal facts in court, who is ultimately held accountable for the consequences?