Marynenka v. Holder (4th Cir. Jan. 25, 2010)
MICHAEL Gregory Legg (dct by designation)
The applicant was an asylum-seeker from Belarus who had been sexually assaulted, among other things, for opposing the regime. The IJ denied for failure to corroborate. He expressed some doubt about the testimony, but made no adverse credibility finding.
1. As to the medical reports showing a sexual assault, the CtApp found the IJ's reason for rejecting the document - that it wasn't on letterhead - speculative, particularly as it was a medical report. It also rejected the IJ's discounting of the document because she couldn't establish the chain of custody. The rules of evidence don't strictly apply, and there has to be a better reason for rejecting a document than that.
2. The CtApp rejected the IJ's conclusion that it was "implausible" for a rape victim to wait until the next morning to tell the police. "Waiting overnight to seek medical attention after a traumatic sexual assault is not implausible; if anything, it is understandable."
3. The IJ also rejected a letter corroborating her participation in a political protest, finding that the IJ had no way of corroborating the truth of the letter. The CtApp held that there is no automatic requirement to corroborate corroboration.
Since the IJ's analysis of corroboration was flawed, petition was granted and remanded to Board for reconsideration.