Opinion ID: 39536
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: 6 On May 11, 2005, the President signed the REAL ID Act of 2005, Pub.L. No. 109-13, 119 Stat. 231, broadening the court's jurisdiction by adding a section to 8 U.S.C. § 1252. 1 The addition reads: 7 Judicial Review of Certain Legal Claims: Nothing in subparagraph (B) or (C), or in any other provision of this Act (other than this section) which limits or eliminates judicial review, shall be construed as precluding review of constitutional claims or questions of law raised upon a petition for review filed with an appropriate court of appeals in accordance with this section. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(D). 8 Section 106(b) of the REAL ID Act makes the above section applicable retroactively. Pub.L. No. 109-13, 119 Stat. 231. 9 The REAL ID Act thus removes jurisdictional bars to direct review of questions of law in final removal, deportation, and exclusion orders. See Papageorgiou v. Gonzales, 413 F.3d 356, 358 (3d Cir.2005); accord Fernandez-Ruiz v. Gonzales, 410 F.3d 585, 587 (9th Cir.2005); Gattem v. Gonzales, 412 F.3d 758, 762 (7th Cir.2005); Lopez v. Gonzales, 417 F.3d 934, 936 (8th Cir.2005). In Ms. Rodriguez-Castro's case, the question is entirely a question of law — whether the BIA properly classified the Texas statute as a CIMT. Because a question of law is at issue and because the statute explicitly applies retroactively, we have jurisdiction over Ms. Rodriguez-Castro's case.