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Wescley Fonseca Pereira v. Jefferson B. Sessions, III, Attorney General

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, No. 16-1033 · judgment July 31, 2017

Decided · June 21, 2018
Pre-decision estimate: 7% cert probability (95% interval 4%–11%)

Before the decision, about 1.6× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a First Circuit decision below, a petition filed soon after the judgment below, and counsel who has filed here before.

Question presented

The Attorney General can cancel removal of certain immigrants under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b (a) and (b). To be eligible for cancellation of removal, a non-permanent resident must have ten years of continuous presence in the United States, and a permanent resident must have seven years of continuous residence. Id. § 1229b(a)(2), (b)(l)(A). Under the "stop-time rule," those periods end when the government serves a "notice to appear under section 1229(a) of this title." Id. § 1229b(d)(l). Section 1229(a) defines a "notice to appear" as "written notice ... specifying" certain information, including "[t]he time and place at which the proceedings will be held." Id. § 1229(a)(l). The First Circuit held, disagreeing with the Third Circuit but agreeing with the Board of Immigration Appeals and other circuits, that the stop-time rule is triggered when the government serves a document that is labeled "notice to appear" but that lacks the "time and place" information required by the definition of a qualifying "notice to appear." The question presented is: Whether, to trigger the stop-time rule by serving a "notice to appear," the government must "specify" the items listed in the definition of a "notice to appear," including "[t]he time and place at which the proceedings will be held."

Counsel of record

For petitioner
William McGinley Jay
Goodwin Procter, LLP

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage · 3 merits
(3 supporting pet./neither)

Argument & decision

Argued April 23, 2018 — David J. Zimmer · Frederick Liu. Audio and transcript

Decided June 21, 2018. Opinion by Sotomayor.

Proceedings

  1. Jul 23 2018
    JUDGMENT ISSUED.
  2. Jun 21 2018
    Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Sotomayor, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, and Gorsuch, JJ., joined. Kennedy, J., filed a concurring opinion. Alito, J., filed a dissenting opinion.
  3. Apr 23 2018
    Argued. For petitioner: David J. Zimmer, Boston, Mass. For respondent: Frederick Liu, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C.
  4. Apr 13 2018
    Reply of petitioner Wescley Fonseca Pereira filed. (Distributed)
  5. Apr 02 2018
    Record received from the U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit is electronic and located on PACER.
  6. Mar 30 2018
    Record requested from U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit.
  7. Mar 23 2018
    Brief of respondent Jefferson B. Sessions, III, Attorney General filed. (Distributed)
  8. Mar 07 2018
    CIRCULATED
  9. Feb 28 2018
    Brief amicus curiae of National Immigrant Justice Center filed.
  10. Feb 28 2018
    Brief amici curiae of American Immigration Lawyers Association, et al. filed.
  11. Feb 28 2018
    Brief amicus curiae of Former BIA Chairman & Immigration Judge Schmidt filed.
  12. Feb 23 2018
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, April 23, 2018.
  13. Feb 21 2018
    Brief of petitioner Wescley Fonseca Pereira filed.
  14. Feb 21 2018
    Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed.)
  15. Jan 25 2018
    As Rule 34.6 provides, “If the Court schedules briefing and oral argument in a case that was governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(c) or Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49.1(c), the parties shall submit electronic versions of all prior and subsequent filings with this Court in the case, subject to [applicable] redaction rules.” Subsequent party and amicus filings in the case should now be submitted through the Court’s electronic filing system, with any necessary redactions.
  16. Jan 12 2018
    Petition GRANTED.
  17. Jan 08 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/12/2018.
  18. Dec 20 2017
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2018.
  19. Dec 19 2017
    Reply of petitioner Wescley Fonseca Pereira filed.
  20. Dec 13 2017
    Waiver of the 14-day waiting period under Rule 15.5 filed by petitioner.
  21. Dec 12 2017
    Brief of respondent Jefferson B. Sessions, III, Attorney General in opposition filed.
  22. Nov 16 2017
    Order further extending time to file response to petition to and including December 12, 2017.
  23. Nov 15 2017
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 29, 2017 to December 12, 2017, submitted to The Clerk.
  24. Oct 30 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of American Immigration Lawyers Association filed.
  25. Oct 25 2017
    Order extending time to file response to petition to and including November 29, 2017.
  26. Sep 27 2017
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 30, 2017)