Analysis of Oral Arguments in Flores-Villar v. United States

On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Flores-Villar v. United States, a case involving a constitutional challenge to gender distinctions in the rules for derivative citizenship.  Basically, children born overseas who have one U.S.-citizen parent can obtain U.S. citizenship if the citizen parent had been physically present in the U.S. for a certain period of time before the child’s birth. If the citizen parent is the father, the period is five years; if it is the mother, the period is one year. Does this differentiation amount to unconstitutional gender-based discrimination?

UC Davis law student Joanna Cuevas Ingram summarizes the oral argument and provides important insights.  See Download Flores-Villar-JCI-Analysis[1]   It looks like it will be a close decision, with only eight Justices participating (Justice Kagan has recused herself).

KJ