The U.S. Supreme Court has appointed Stephen Hammer, a former clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts, to present arguments in an ongoing immigration case after the Biden administration decided against defending the decision made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. This development was made public through a brief, unsigned order released by the court recently.
The case, Riley v. Garland, involves assessing the 30-day deadline for seeking judicial review of decisions made by the Board of Immigration Appeals when a deportation order is issued. Pierre Riley, a Jamaican national residing in New York for nearly thirty years, argues that deportation could put his life or freedom in jeopardy. The Biden administration has taken Riley’s side, contending that the appellate court erred in its assessment of the filing deadline’s jurisdictional nature, implying petitions should be reviewable even if filed late. They recommend remanding the case for further examination in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling on similar statutory deadlines.
Riley had urged the justices to officially address the case and appoint an independent legal expert to argue in support of the 4th Circuit’s decision, a role filled by Hammer, now an associate at Gibson Dunn’s Dallas office. Hammer’s diverse background includes service as a U.S. Army officer with two tours in Afghanistan, being a Rhodes Scholar, and achieving the highest score on the Texas bar exam in 2019. He clerked for Judge Gregory Katsas of the District of Columbia Circuit and Judge Jeffrey Sutton on the 6th Circuit before his tenure with Chief Justice Roberts. For more information, the announcement was initially covered on Howe on the Court.