Gerardo Gonzalez-Valencia v. United States
Whether courts of appeals can invoke 28 U.S.C. § 2106 to reverse and remand in the interests of justice without identifying a specific legal or factual error
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2106, Congress granted this Court and the courts of appeals broad authority to act in the interests of justice. The issue here is what are the standards for exercising that authority? The D.C., Seventh, and Third Circuits have invoked section 2106 to reverse and remand in the interest of justice, even though the district court did not commit any legal or factual error that would otherwise qualify for reversal. But this Court has no precedent establishing if, or when, such invocation is appropriate. There are no analytical guideposts for exercising discretion to remand when there is no error to reverse. The Court should grant certiorari to bring uniformity to the law. ii RELATED CASES United States v. Gonzalez-Valencia , No. 16-cr-00065BAH, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Judgment entered September 1, 2023.