A lesson in the weight of secondary authority

The September 26, 2005 issue of Massachusetts Lawyer's Weekly contains a summary of an appeal from a Board of Immigration Appeals heard by the First Circuit and decided September 16 in which the outcome turned on the degree of persuasiveness of a piece of secondary authority - in this case, a State Department Country Report. The case is Zarouite v. Gonzaeles, ___F.3d___, 2005 WL2253604.

The immigration judge had discounted the petitioner's testimony of persecution and held the petitioner ineligible for consideration by the Attorney General for asylum, and the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. In affirming, the BIA relied solely on a State Department Country Report for the proposition that things had improved in Morocco since the petitioner's departure.

The First Circuit said these Country Reports are "generally persuasive of country conditions", but are "open to contradiction". The Court goes on to say "the government's brief makes no developed argument to show that the report rebuts Zarouite's fear of future persecution; it merely asserts this proposition in conclusory terms and passes on with suspicious swiftness."

Ouch! Our sympathies to the dissed brief-writer, but a teachable moment for the rest of us - persuasive authority, however, well-respected in general, is not persuasive unless it is tied into the facts with logic and careful analysis.

Writing a Seminar Paper? Could you use some help?

In depth research simply isn't expected from a first year student. By the second year, however, many of you are committed to writing papers in some fairly difficult areas. There is help, however. NESL's topical web pages have links to both primary and secondary sources. Your professors can recommend resources, and the Reference librarians, either online or in person, are happy to help.

Another valuable resource is http://llrx.com, with its extremely helpful resource guides. If you are in a paper course, this site is worth a look.

For example: Students in International Business Transactions, International Environmental Law, Corruption in International Transactions, Public International Law, Indigenous People's Rights or Comparative Criminal Procedure should check out the LLRX section on researching international law: http://www.llrx.com/international_law.html has links to resources which are as diverse as our courses. The latest offering in this area involves the protection of cultural property; other guides can help you with international trade topics, or international criminal procedure.