Emergency petition for writ of superintending control to the New Mexico Supreme Court in a sexual assault case in which a state court judges ordered U visa and T visa applicant victims to turn over in criminal court discovery information contained in the victim’s VAWA confidentiality protected case in violation of federal law. The court held that U or T Visa applications are privileged material. Thus, the court further held that subpoenas shall not compel victims of either U or T Visa applications to disclose such privileged material. The court reasoned that policies and principles underlying Section 1367 prohibit disclosure of such privileged materials. Both of the plaintiff-victims, their parents, and their immigration counsel should not have been compelled to produce such privileged material, despite the subpoena(s) compelling disclosure by the defendants. Lastly, under 8 U.S.C. § 214.216(c) the attorney-client privilege also prohibited the U/T Visa recipients from disclosing privileged materials. NIWAP was represented in this appeal. The New Mexico Supreme Court reversed the courts discovery rulings using the arguments laid out in NIWAP’s brief (May 15, 2025).
National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project