Jenner Associate Wins Supreme Court Pro Bono Victory in Immigration Case
Updated: A court of appeals retains its traditional authority to grant stays in deportation cases, despite a 1996 statute that limited the circumstances in which courts may block the removal of aliens, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 7-2 opinion.
The decision is a victory for Jenner & Block associate Lindsay Harrison, who represented immigrant Jean Marc Nken, according to a law firm press release. Harrison tells the ABA Journal the Supreme Court oral argument was her first appellate argument in any court. She handled the case pro bono.
The government had argued that a provision in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 limited the circumstances in which stays could be granted. The Supreme Court disagreed, saying the statutory provision—on injunctions blocking the removal of aliens—leaves intact the court’s traditional authority to grant stays.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the majority opinion (PDF). “It takes time to decide a case on appeal,” his opinion began. “Sometimes a little; sometimes a lot.”
Nken is a Cameroon citizen who claimed he would be persecuted if he returned to his country because he had taken part in protests against the government.
After his application petition was denied, Nken sought to reopen the case, arguing that circumstances in Cameroon had changed and made his persecution more likely.
He also sought a stay of deportation, which was denied by the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court decision directs the 4th Circuit to reconsider.
Dissenting Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. argue that the majority decision “nullifies an important statutory provision.”
Harrison says the decision is “a critical victory” for Nken.
“It’s a case that could really literally mean life or death for my client,” she says. “If he were deported while his appeal was pending, he is likely to be killed or jailed or tortured in Cameroon.”
Harrison got the case referral from the World Organization for Human Rights, and prepared for oral arguments “with much help from my colleagues and many moot courts,” including sessions at Georgetown, Public Citizen and within her law firm.
Will the victory whet Harrison’s appetite for appellate litigation? “Yes, definitely,” she says. “I love it. It’s an incredible challenge and an incredible honor.”
Updated at 11 a.m. CT to include comments from Harrison.
