The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit it filed last month against the Franklin County Municipal Court that sought to curtail the court's power to limit immigration enforcement operations in or near the courthouse.
In a Sept. 14 court filing, the DOJ said it is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice, meaning it would close the current case but could file the lawsuit again in the future should it desire. The filing says the dismissal is because the DOJ believes it would be able to get "complete relief" on its claims without involving the Municipal Court or Enoch White, the court's Security Director.
The Dispatch has reached out to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Columbus and to the Municipal Court for further explanation.
The DOJ filed the lawsuit Aug. 25 in the U.S. District Court in Columbus and named Jessica D'Varga, the Municipal Court's administrative and presiding judge, and White as defendants in addition to the municipal court. The lawsuit sought to block Local Rule 2.10, a courthouse rule that prevents immigration arrests inside or near the courthouse.
The DOJ argued that the court's rule "brazenly violates" the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because immigration enforcement is under the federal government's jurisdiction.
Municipal Court judges adopted the rule in March after criticism from a Common Pleas judge over a plea deal in an assault case that was offered when a victim's fear of immigration detention prevented them from attending a hearing.
Franklin County Common Pleas Court has had a rule restricting civil immigration arrests without a judicial warrant since February 2025.
This is a breaking news story. Check back at Dispatch.com for more updates.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: DOJ seeks to dismiss immigration suit against Franklin Co. Municipal Court
