The Supreme Court has dismissed a case previously slated for argument in October concerning the rights of noncitizens to a bond hearing during extended detentions. This decision follows confirmation from U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer that the matter had become moot, a position shared by the challenger’s legal team. The case, known as Genalo v. Black, initially sought to clarify at what point detainees are entitled to a bond hearing and what justifications the government must present to continue detaining noncitizens under such conditions.
Originally, the case involved two men detained under Section 1226(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which mandates the detention of certain noncitizens, including some green card holders, convicted of specific crimes while awaiting removal proceedings. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit previously ruled that the detainees’ prolonged detention entitled them to bond hearings based on the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause.
Complications arose when Carol Williams Black, one of the petitioners, opted to leave the United States and declared no intention of returning, leading both parties to agree that his claim was moot. The Supreme Court had isolated the focus to the other detainee, Keisy G.M., who had been detained for 21 months. However, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent pardon of G.M.’s assault conviction, G.M. is no longer deportable under Section 1226(c), rendering the case moot, as ACLU National Legal Director Cecillia Wang argued in her briefing to the court.
The Justice Department, represented by Sauer, plans to revisit the legal questions in a future petition. For now, the case’s dismissal affects the court’s October schedule, reducing the number of arguments to six for the sitting. For more details, reference the original reporting on SCOTUSblog.