Fourth District Court of Appeal rebukes the Trump Administration over Kilmar Abrego Garcia case

Written By H. Pike Oliver

Judges on the bench of the Fourth District Court of Appeal

On Thursday, April 17, 2025, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift Judge Paula Xinis' order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return. The court unanimously rejected the administration's appeal, emphasizing that the government cannot evade due process by deporting individuals and then claiming courts have no authority to intervene.

Conservative Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson (appointed by Ronald Reagan), writing for the panel, stated that the government's actions were "shocking" and warned against allowing the executive branch to "stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process." The ruling also upholds Xinis' expedited discovery order, meaning Trump administration officials will have to be available for depositions regarding their handling of the case.

The full text of the order drafted by Judge Wilkinson is a wonderful civic lesson. You may read it here.

H. Pike Oliver

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, H. Pike Oliver has worked on real estate development strategies and master-planned communities since the early 1970s, including nearly eight years at the Irvine Company. He resided in the City of Irvine for five years in the 1980s and nine years in the 1990s.

As the founder and sole proprietor of URBANEXUS, Oliver works on advancing equitable and sustainable real estate development and natural lands management. He is also an affiliate instructor at the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington.

Early in his career, Oliver worked for public agencies, including the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research where he was a principal contributor to An Urban Strategy for California. Prior to relocating to Seattle in 2013, Oliver taught real estate development at Cornell University and directed the undergraduate program in urban and regional studies. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the American Planning Association and a founder and emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable.

Oliver is a graduate of the urban studies and planning program at San Francisco State University and earned a master’s degree in urban planning at UCLA.

https://urbanexus.com
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