Opinion ID: 3355181
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: 2015 petition for review and motion to dismiss

Text: In May 2015, Butka filed a timely petition for review in this Court. The government responded with a motion to dismiss for lack of appellate jurisdiction, citing Lenis v. U.S. Attorney General, 525 F.3d 1291 (11th Cir. 2008). On October 16, 2015, after Butka replied to the motion, this Court issued an order carrying the government’s motion to dismiss with the case. The parties have now filed merits briefs addressing the BIA’s decision and reasserting their arguments concerning this Court’s jurisdiction. The parties debate whether Butka 9 Case: 15-11954 Date Filed: 07/05/2016 Page: 10 of 19 can use a motion to reopen sua sponte to (1) withdraw her earlier concession from January 2008 3 that she had a 1977 conviction in South Korea for possession of 105 grams of marijuana; (2) re-litigate and obtain de novo review of the BIA’s 2010 decision that she was ineligible for adjustment of status due to that 1977 conviction; and (3) submit new evidence and arguments in 2015 that were available in her original removal proceedings, her first BIA review, and her first petition for review before this Court. The government stresses that Butka’s request to reopen is based on changes in the facts, not on changes in the law. We need not reach and decide all these issues because we conclude we lack jurisdiction over Butka’s petition for review. 4