Decided
Blanche v. Lau
Holding
The Immigration and Nationality Act does not require a border officer to have clear and convincing evidence that a lawful permanent resident has committed a crime involving moral turpitude before deeming the resident an applicant for admission.
Judgment
Vacated and remanded, 6-3, in an opinion by Clarence Thomas on Jun 23, 2026. Justice Jackson wrote a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan.
Vote
6
3
ThomasRobertsAlitoGorsuchKavanaughBarrett
JacksonSotomayorKagan
Related Coverage
Oct 8, 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 7, 2025)
Oct 8, 2025Pursuant to Rule 34.6 and Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines for the Submission of Documents to the Supreme Court's Electronic Filing System, filings in this case should be submitted in paper form only, and should not be submitted through the Court's electronic filing system.
Oct 10, 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 7, 2025 to December 8, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.Oct 16, 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including December 8, 2025.
Dec 8, 2025Brief of respondent Muk Lau in opposition filed.Dec 23, 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
Dec 23, 2025Reply of petitioner Pamela Bondi filed. (Distributed)Jan 9, 2026Petition GRANTED.
Jan 9, 2026As Rule 34.6 provides, “If the Court schedules briefing and oral argument in a case that was governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(c) or Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 49.1(c), the parties shall submit electronic versions of all prior and subsequent filings with this Court in the case, subject to [applicable] redaction rules.” Subsequent party and amicus filings in the case should now be submitted through the Court’s electronic filing system, with any necessary redactions.
Feb 11, 2026SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
Feb 18, 2026Brief for the petitioner filed.Feb 18, 2026Joint appendix filed.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Federation for American Immigration Reform filed.Feb 27, 2026Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Mar 12, 2026Record received electronically from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and available with the Clerk.
Mar 20, 2026Brief of respondent Muk Lau filed.Mar 27, 2026Brief amici curiae of American Immigration Lawyers Association, et al. filed. (Distributed)Mar 27, 2026Brief amici curiae of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, et al. filed. (Distributed)Mar 27, 2026Brief amici curiae of Immigration Law Professors filed. (Distributed)Mar 30, 2026CIRCULATED
Apr 10, 2026Reply of petitioner filed. (Distributed)Apr 22, 2026Argued. For petitioner: Sopan Joshi, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Shay Dvoretzky, Washington, D. C.
Jun 23, 2026Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED. Thomas, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Jackson, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Sotomayor and Kagan, JJ., joined.
Jul 27, 2026Judgment Issued.Recommended Citation: Blanche v. Lau, SCOTUSblog, https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/bondi-v-lau/