No. 25-6701
Eskender Getachew v. United States
Tags: circuit-split criminal-procedure defendant-presence jury-verdict sixth-amendment trial-court-duty
Key Terms:
FifthAmendment HabeasCorpus
FifthAmendment HabeasCorpus
Latest Conference:
2026-02-27
Question Presented (from Petition)
Both the Constitution (through the Fifth and Sixth Amendments) and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (Rule 43) provide that a defendant "must be present" when the jury returns its verdict. If the defendant is absent, is the trial court under a duty to make some inquiry before proceeding to the verdict?
Question Presented (AI Summary)
Whether a trial court has a duty to inquire into a defendant's absence before proceeding with a jury verdict when constitutional and procedural rules mandate defendant presence
Docket Entries
2026-02-12
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/27/2026.
2026-02-09
Waiver of United States of right to respond submitted.
2026-02-09
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2026-01-27
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due March 5, 2026)
Attorneys
Eskender Getachew
Kevin Michael Schad — Office of the Federal Public Defender, Petitioner
United States
D. John Sauer — Solicitor General, Respondent