No. 25-6702

Jason Steven Kokinda v. United States

Lower Court: Fourth Circuit
Docketed: 2026-02-04
Status: Pending
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP
Tags: criminal-law due-process nichols-precedent plain-error sex-offender-registration statutory-interpretation
Key Terms:
AdministrativeLaw DueProcess
Latest Conference: 2026-02-27
Question Presented (from Petition)

Did the lower courts commit plain error requiring summary reversal by reinterpreting the elements of 18 U.S.C. § 2250, (construed by the unanimous Supreme Court panel in Nichols v. United States, 578 U.S. 104, 136 S. Ct. 1113, 194 L. Ed. 2d 324 (2016),) to thereby criminalize a law-abiding modus operandi of never staying longer than state law allows unregistered visitors and moving on?

Is the term "habitually lives" merely ambiguous in isolation, or subject to the rule of lenity, in any regard, because the Attorney General was not delegated specific authority to interpret 18 U.S.C. § 2250 in compliance with judicial canons and lacked the expertise required to provide Skidmore deference post-Loper Light?

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Did the lower courts commit plain error by reinterpreting the elements of 18 U.S.C. § 2250 to criminalize a law-abiding modus operandi of moving between states?

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.
2026-01-21
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due March 6, 2026)
2025-11-20
Application (25A546) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until January 22, 2026.
2025-11-07
Application (25A546) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from November 23, 2025 to January 22, 2026, submitted to The Chief Justice.

Attorneys

Jason Kokinda
Jason Steven Kokinda — Petitioner
United States
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent