On November 3, 2015, I argued an immigration case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The transcript and audio for the oral argument are on-line. If you are reading this and you’re thinking of hiring me for your deportation case, listening to the audio will show you what I can do in court.
Since it’s an open case, I prefer not to comment about the case. Although, I will say that it was a dream come true to be able to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. This was my first time ever arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court. This meant a lot to me because I’ve twice lost out on opportunities to argue before the Supreme Court.
In 2007, I was part of a team of lawyers that won a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit called Blake v. Carbone, 489 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. 2007). At the time, Blake was considered an important decision and it was expected that the Solicitor General’s Office would file a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court challenging the Second Circuit’s decision. However, they did not. A few years later, the Supreme Court decided Judulang v. Holder, 132 S.Ct. 476 (2011), which involved the same issue as Blake, but from a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
In 2008, I won a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit called Martinez v. Mukasey, 519 F.3d 532 (2d Cir. 2008). Once again, it was expected that the Solicitor General’s Office would file a petition for a writ of certiorari challenging the Second Circuit’s decision. However, they did not. A few years later, the Supreme Court decided Moncrieffe v. Holder, 133 S.Ct. 1678 (2013), which involved the same issue as as Martinez, but from a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Since I won Blake and Martinez, it was hard for me to watch other lawyers litigate issues in the Supreme Court that I had litigated first in the Second Circuit. Not being able to argue Blake and Martinez before the Supreme Court made this experience even more special for me. I finally got my chance to argue before the Supreme Court.