No. 25-6485

Michelle Renee Morton v. Iowa

Lower Court: Iowa
Docketed: 2026-01-06
Status: Pending
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: criminal-proceedings due-process judicial-review jurisdictional-defect structural-error void-ab-initio
Key Terms:
DueProcess
Latest Conference: 2026-02-20
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. Whether a conviction initiated by a warrant issued by a magistrate who is later adjudicated not neutral and detached, constitutes a structural jurisdictional defect rendering the judgment void ab initio, such that the judgment cannot be insulated from review by State Deferred Judgment and Post-Conviction Relief (PCR) procedures.

2. Whether a state may, consistent with the Due Process Clause and 28 U.S.C. § 1257, use Deferred Judgment and PCR rules to bar all state court review of an alleged structural Fourth Amendment violation in the initiation of criminal proceedings, leaving an entire class of defendants without any remedy once the defect is discovered.

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether a conviction initiated by a warrant issued by a magistrate who is later adjudicated constitutes a structural jurisdictional defect rendering the judgment void ab initio, and whether a state may use Deferred Judgment and PCR rules to bar state court review of an alleged structural flaw in the initiation of criminal proceedings

Docket Entries

2026-01-29
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
2026-01-22
Waiver of Iowa of right to respond submitted.
2026-01-22
Waiver of right of respondent Iowa to respond filed.
2025-12-26
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due February 5, 2026)

Attorneys

Iowa
Darrel MullinsIowas Dept. of Justice, Respondent
Michelle Renee Morton
Michelle Renee Morton — Petitioner