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

H. Pike Oliver focuses on master-planned communities. He is co-author of Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and THE BIG PLAN, published by Routledge in 2022.

Early in his career, Pike 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. For the next three decades, he was involved in master-planned development on the Irvine Ranch in Southern California, as well as other properties in western North America and abroad.

Beginning in 2009, Pike taught real estate development at Cornell University and directed the undergraduate program in Urban and Regional Studies. He relocated to Seattle in 2013 and, from 2016 to 2020, served as a lecturer in the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington, where he also served as its chair.

Pike graduated from San Francisco State University's urban studies and planning program and received a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA. He is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute and a founder and emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable.

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