No. 21-8138

Lawrence J. Gerrans v. United States

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2022-06-14
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: civil-rights criminal-procedure first-amendment free-exercise religious-rights sixth-amendment structural-error trial-rights
Key Terms:
FirstAmendment
Latest Conference: 2022-09-28
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. May a district court , upon the prosecutor's demand that a defendant's Bible be removed from the courtroom during a criminal trial, constitutionally prohibit a defendant from possessing and consulting a Bible while the jury trial is in session ?

2. Should this Court overrule Ninth Circuit law, and resolve a Circuit split, by holding that in rare c ases, a federal circuit court may r emand for further development of the r ecord on a c laim of i neffective assistance of c ounsel ?

3. May a n appellate court disregard the unequivocal instructions in the Sentencing Guideline Worksheets for the timing and order of calculating sentencing guideline enhancements, and rely on citations to wrong guideline sections, in support of a cursory opinion on a guidelin e calculation that increases a defendant's prison sentence by years?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

May a district court prohibit a defendant from possessing and consulting a Bible during a criminal trial?

Docket Entries

2022-10-03
Petition DENIED.
2022-06-30
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2022.
2022-06-22
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2022-06-10
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due July 14, 2022)

Attorneys

America, United States of
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent
Lawrence Gerrans
Shawn HalbertLaw Offices of Shawn Halbert, Petitioner