The Immigration Judge Benchbook, Part Two: Curated

Happy day-after-Valentine's Day! I thought I'd add a follow up to my February 13 post about the immigration judge benchbook. I've just gone through all the files in the archived benchbook, and I've selected a few that I recommend for either context familiarization or for creating recordings to practice with. Disclaimer, I wouldn't say to expect that these documents will always contain exactly what our IJs say. Many give their own spin, add new jurisprudence as the law changes, or otherwise pick and choose from what they are given to work with. However, I personally have noticed from the many hearings I've interpreted that a lot of the language contained in these documents is similar or identical to what the judges will use. I've starred the ones that contain language that I feel is most similar to what I encounter in court currently.

Here's what I came up with:

Oral decision templates:

Special Rule Cancellation (VAWA cancellation)
Asylum* This one is missing a lot of the language I regularly hear in oral decisions, especially as relates to CAT analysis. However, it still contains a lot of standard language, and I do find it helpful.
Non-LPR Cancellation of Removal*
LPR Cancellation of Removal*
Pre-Conclusion Voluntary Departure*
Omnibus oral decision template This one is like a choose-your-own-adventure oral decision template for judges, depending on the type of case. Very good as a single source for familiarization.
Former 212(c) Waiver This is very old law, so you're unlikely to see this except maybe in some very ancient case, but it's possible it could come up and also interesting as part of the history of immigration law.

Scripts for hearings:

Respondent rights*
Master Calendar Checklist/language
Initial hearing scripts (most preliminary matters)
Voluntary Departure Advisals*

Boilerplate language for statements of the law:

Findings Necessary for Frivolous Asylum Application*
Asylum (Post-Real ID act)*
Pre-Conclusion Voluntary Departure
Post-Conclusion Voluntary Departure
NACARA, Guatemala
NACARA, El Salvador
NACARA, Sovet Bloc
NACARA, Cuba/Nicaragua
Cuban Adjustment
237(a)(7) Waiver
212(i) Waiver
212(k) Waiver

Also, the EOIR Practice Manual (last update 9/26/2019), which is EOIR's court rules for lawyers that appear before the court, is full of information about court rules, types of proceedings, and how proceedings are conducted. It even has information about some historical proceedings like deportation, exclusion, and rescission that interpreters may find interesting.