us, post argument supplemental letter
DESCRIPTION
Tuaua v. United States is a federal lawsuit brought by Leneuoti Tuaua, the Samoan Federation of America, and others born in American Samoa who believe that so long as American Samoa is a part of the United States, people born in American Samoa have a right to U.S. citizenship under the Constitution. Plaintiffs are represented by Neil Weare, President of We the People Project, a national organization dedicated to achieving equal rights and representation for the nearly 5 million Americans living in U.S. territories and the District of Columbia; Arnold & Porter, LLP, an international law firm; and Charles V. Ala'ilima, a prominent American Samoan attorney.TRANSCRIPT
U.S. Department of Justice
Ronald Machen Jr. United States Attorney
District of Columbia
Judiciary Center 555 Fourth St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530
March 10, 2015 FILED ELECTRONICALLY
The Honorable Mark J. Langer Clerk of Court U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001 Re: Leneuoti F. Tuaua et al. v. United States of America et al. No. 13-5272 Dear Mr. Langer:
The Federal Appellees submit this letter to address any misimpression that may have been left after oral argument on Monday, February 9, 2015, that the Government would concede that it could not prevail in a hypothetical case where the American Samoan government supported Appellants’ position. The position of the Federal Appellees, as their brief reflects, has been, and continues to be, that its position is fully consistent with federal law, and thus the American Samoan government’s support of the Federal Appellees’ position is not dispositive for the Government to prevail on the issue before the Court. We apologize for any confusion that may have been created on this issue. Sincerely, RONALD C. MACHEN JR. United States Attorney By: /s/ . WYNNE P. KELLY Assistant United States Attorney Cc: All counsel of record via ECF
USCA Case #13-5272 Document #1541660 Filed: 03/10/2015 Page 1 of 1