Pugin v. Garland

Summary

Justice Kavanaugh, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Barrett, and Jackson, held that an offense may relate to obstruction of justice under 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(43)(S) without requiring a pending investigation or proceeding. The Court affirmed the Fourth Circuit and reversed and remanded the Ninth Circuit. Dictionaries, federal and state statutes, and the Model Penal Code supported that interpretation, reinforced by Congress's use of “relating to.” Justice Jackson concurred separately, suggesting that Congress might have intended Chapter 73 of Title 18 to define the relevant category of obstruction offenses, while reserving that question. Justice Sotomayor dissented, joined by Justice Gorsuch and, except for Part III, Justice Kagan. The dissent argued that generic obstruction requires a pending investigation or proceeding and criticized the majority's approach as insufficiently bounded. Part III additionally invoked the principle of resolving lingering ambiguities in deportation statutes in favor of noncitizens.