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Patel v. Garland

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Patel v. Garland
Argued December 6, 2021
Decided May 16, 2022
Full case namePankajkumar S. Patel, et al. v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General
Docket no.20-979
Citations596 U.S. 328 (more)
ArgumentOral argument
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan · Neil Gorsuch
Brett Kavanaugh · Amy Coney Barrett
Case opinions
MajorityBarrett, joined by Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh
DissentGorsuch, joined by Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
Laws applied
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

Patel v. Garland, 596 U.S. 328 (2022), was a United States Supreme Court case related to the jurisdiction of federal courts over immigration appeals.

Background

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Pankajkumar Patel entered the United States illegally in February 1992. In August 2007, he applied for adjustment of status to receive a green card. In December 2008, Patel sought to renew his Georgia driver's license and checked a box on the application specifying that he was a United States citizen. An immigration judge later denied his application for adjustment of status on that basis, and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed. Patel asserted that because he would be eligible for the driver's license regardless of his citizenship status, his mistake on the form should not matter when it comes to his immigration application. He subsequently petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit for review of the BIA's decision, but a panel of the court held it lacked jurisdiction to consider the claim. Both Patel and the government disagreed with this reading of the jurisdiction-stripping provision of the immigration code, and the court granted rehearing en banc. The Eleventh Circuit again reached the same outcome, this time in an 11–4 vote. Patel filed a petition for a writ of certiorari.[1]

Supreme Court

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Certiorari was granted in the case on June 28, 2021. As both Patel and the government disagreed with the Eleventh Circuit's decision, the court appointed Taylor Meehan of Consovoy McCarthy to defend the judgment below. Oral arguments were held on December 6, 2021. On May 16, 2022, the Supreme Court affirmed the Eleventh Circuit in a 5–4 decision, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett writing the majority, and Justice Neil Gorsuch writing the dissent.

References

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  1. ^ Howe, Amy (June 28, 2021). "Justices won't intervene in dispute over transgender rights and bathrooms". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
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