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Pedro Rodriguez-Garcia v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 19-50575 · judgment April 9, 2020

Certiorari denied · February 22, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 3% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

Pedro Rodriguez-Garcia was ordered removed by an immigration judge after being served a document titled “Notice to Appear” that did not tell Mr. Rodriguez-Garcia when to appear for his removal proceedings. Federal law requires that noncitizens facing removal proceedings be served a Notice to Appear with a hearing time. 8 U.S.C. § 1229(a)(1)(G)(i). Mr. Rodriguez-Garcia was convicted of illegal reentry based on that putative removal order. The question presented is:

  1. Did the immigration court lack authority to remove Mr. Rodriguez-Garcia because he was served a Notice to Appear that did not comply with federal law because it lacked a hearing time?

  2. In an illegal reentry prosecution, can the defendant attack the jurisdictional basis for a removal order outside the 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d) requirements for a collateral attack? If not, is § 1326(d) unconstitutional?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Javier N. Maldonado
Law Office of Javier N. Maldonado, P.C.

For respondent
Brian H. Fletcher
Acting Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Feb 22 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Feb 03 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/19/2021.
  3. Jan 26 2021
    Waiver of right of respondent United States of America to respond filed.
  4. Jan 11 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 16, 2021)