SCOTUS: Riley v. Bondi

Today, the US Supreme Court released an opinion in Riley v. Bondi. Justice Alito drafted the opinion and Justices Roberts, Thomas Kavanaugh, Barrett signed onto it in full. The other four justices–Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Jackson–joined one part (II-B) of the opinion.

Section II-A of the opinion (with 5 justices agreeing to it) concerns INA § 242, 8 U.S.C. § 1252. Specifically, subsection (b)(1), which states that judicial review of a final order of removal “must be filed not later than 30 days after the date of the final order of removal.” The petitioner, Riley, sought judicial review of the BIA’s order denying CAT relief and not his earlier administrative removal order. SCOTUS determined that the BIA’s decision on CAT was not a “final order of removal.”

Section II-B of the opinion (with 9 justices agreeing to it) concludes that the 30-day filing deadline is not a jurisdictional rule but a “claim-processing rule.” Thus, the Fourth Circuit could reach the decision as to whether the BIA correctly concluded that Riley was ineligible for CAT relief. 

-KitJ