mens-rea

487 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6954 Natasha Nicole Newberry v. United States Fourth Circuit 2026-03-04 Pending Response WaivedIFP 18-USC-1791 contraband criminal-attempt federal-prison mens-rea substantial-step Whether an inmate's intercepted letter discussing introduction of contraband inside a federal prison constitutes a "substantial step" sufficient to su…
25-6932 Illiana Grigoriou v. Florida Florida 2026-03-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-threats due-process first-amendment mens-rea overbreadth void-for-vagueness 1. The dialogue between Petitioner (a 19 year old girl) and ZF (a 20 year old male) show sarcasm, hyperbole, venting of frustration but not true threa…
25-6742 Gezo Goeong Edwards v. United States District of Columbia 2026-02-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance criminal-procedure due-process indictment-defect ineffective-assistance mens-rea 1. Whether an indictment charging conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance under 21 USCS 846 and 841(a) fails to state an offense where it plac…
25-6714 Ivan Granillo v. United States Ninth Circuit 2026-02-04 Pending IFP criminal-law federal-crime immigration-law mens-rea statutory-interpretation transportation What mens rea is required for the element that the defendant transport or move the noncitizen "in furtherance " of a violation of law ?
25-6627 Gerald Blaise II v. United States Ninth Circuit 2026-01-20 Pending IFP appellate-waiver civil-rights-restoration felony-possession firearm-statute guilty-plea mens-rea 1. Whether a defendant previously convicted of a felony offense violates 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) & 924(a)(2) when, at the time that he possesses a fire…
25-6582 Demonya Marquise Swarn v. United States Fifth Circuit 2026-01-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach crime-of-violence fifth-circuit guidelines mens-rea robbery-definition I. Texas robbery may be committed by a reckless use of force merely incidental to the taking of property. Did the Fifth Circuit misapply the categoric…
25-6516 Auburn Calloway v. United States Sixth Circuit 2026-01-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review due-process equal-protection judicial-disqualification mens-rea sentence-reduction Whether the appellate affirmance of the district court's sentence reduction denial overlooked A) that the district court was disqualified because the …
25-6424 Sherrod Goodspeed v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-12-23 Dismissed Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach crime-of-violence fifth-circuit guidelines mens-rea robbery-definition I. Texas robbery may be committed by a reckless use of force merely incidental to the taking of property. Did the Fifth Circuit misapply the categoric…
25A623 Faraday Hosseinipour v. United States Sixth Circuit 2025-11-26 Presumed Complete conspiracy intent-to-defraud mail-fraud mens-rea multi-level-marketing securities-fraud Question not identified.
25-6169 Elias Xavier Rosario Torres v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2025-11-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure firearm-statute mandatory-minimum mens-rea statutory-interpretation A person who is convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, but who…
25-5796 Daniel Matthew Matlock v. United States Tenth Circuit 2025-10-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-statute federal-question mens-rea sexual-abuse statutory-interpretation Whether the term "knowingly" in 18 U.S.C. § 2242(1) (sexual abuse) applies only to "causing another person to engage in a sexual act" or whether it ex…
25-5680 David Petersen v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2025-09-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP actus-reus aiding-and-abetting circuit-split constitutional-rights mens-rea specific-intent 1. Whether the mens rea and actus reus requirements for aiding and abetting liability under 18 U.S.C. § 2 demand proof of specific intent and affirma…
25-5600 In Re Lonnie W. Hubbard 2025-09-10 Denied IFP appellate-review controlled-substances criminal-law federal-indictment jury-instructions mens-rea I. Whether the jury instructions informed the jury, as a matter of law, of the "knowingly or intentionally" mens rea of the 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) coun…
25-5393 Ross Farca v. California California 2025-08-18 Denied IFP assault-weapon constitutional-challenge due-process mens-rea search-warrant second-amendment I. Is California's Assault Weapon Control Act: §30605, §30600, §30800 & §30950 constitutional, especially when Prosecution "Firearm Expert" conceded t…
25-160 Julian Omidi and Surgery Center Management, LLC v. United States Ninth Circuit 2025-08-11 Denied Relisted (2) appellate-review consent-element criminal-statute identity-theft jury-instruction mens-rea 1. Whether the government must prove that the defendant used a means of identification without the consent of its owner, that is, stole the identity, …
25-150 Anton Joseph Lazzaro v. United States Eighth Circuit 2025-08-07 Denied Response Waived age-of-consent criminal-law federal-statute mens-rea sex-trafficking statutory-interpretation Does a person who engages in otherwise lawful, consensual sex with a 16 or 17-year-old dating partner commit "sex-trafficking" if the person gives unc…
25A144 Stephen K. Bannon v. United States District of Columbia 2025-08-05 Presumed Complete congressional-subpoena criminal-statute executive-privilege mens-rea separation-of-powers willful-conduct Whether the D.C. Circuit's interpretation of "willfully" in 2 U.S.C. § 192 to require only intentional conduct, rather than knowledge of unlawfulness,…
25-5117 George P. Naum, III v. United States Fourth Circuit 2025-07-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substances jury-instructions medical-purpose mens-rea plain-error subjective-intent In Ruan v. United States, 597 U.S. ___ (2022), this Court answered the question on whether a physician alleged to have prescribed controlled substance…
24-1220 Mark Joseph Uhlenbrock v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-05-30 Denied Response Waived cyberstalking emotional-distress federal-prosecution first-amendment mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Can a Federal Cyberstalking prosecution pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2261A be used to target repeated communications on the sole basis that they would b…
24-6822 Jorge Almeida v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2025-03-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP due-process ineffective-assistance insanity-defense mens-rea mental-disease specific-intent I. Almeida received Ineffective Assistance of Counsel as a result of his trial counsel's strategy of conceding guilt to lesser included offenses inste…
24-6749 Foster Lee Scott v. United States Ninth Circuit 2025-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-violation expert-testimony fair-trial federal-rules-of-evidence intent-determination mens-rea 1. Does the two officer's testimony at trial, particularly Sergeant Helms' testimony establish the required mens rea for the offense? 2. How does the…
24-6639 Mario Ayala Alfaro v. California California 2025-02-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP common-law-infant criminal-procedure due-process eighth-amendment jurisdictional-defect mens-rea 1. Whether punishing a common-law infant in violation of a substantive rule of criminal procedure when devoid of the requisite knowledge and guilty me…
24-900 Parvez Anjum Qureshi v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-02-20 Denied Response Waived conspiracy constitutional-rights controlled-substances due-process jury-instructions mens-rea Where the district court misinforms and errone ously instructs the jury as to the mens rea requirement for Title 21 U.S.C. § 841( a), in violation of …
24-6585 Patrick Jones v. United States Ninth Circuit 2025-02-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP child-pornography constitutional-law first-amendment mens-rea statutory-construction supreme-court-precedent Whether the child pornography offense set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) requires the government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant h…
24A785 Jeffery Day Rieber v. John Q. Hamm, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2025-02-14 Denied capital-punishment habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mens-rea penalty-phase sixth-amendment Question not identified.
24-856 Cisco Systems, Inc., et al. v. Doe I, et al. Ninth Circuit 2025-02-11 Granted CVSGAmici (31)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) aiding-and-abetting alien-tort-statute mens-rea private-right-of-action statutory-interpretation torture-victim-protection-act 1. Whether the Alien Tort Statute ("ATS"), 28 U.S.C. § 1350, allows a judicially-implied private right of action for aiding and abetting. 2. Whether,…
24-841 David W. Suetholz v. United States Sixth Circuit 2025-02-06 Denied Response Waived criminal-liability deliberate-ignorance mens-rea physician-prosecution prescribing-standards statutory-interpretation 1. Does a deliberate ignorance instruction in a physician prosecution under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) that incorporates an objective yet "ambiguous" standard…
24-6489 Dzung Ahn Pham v. United States Ninth Circuit 2025-02-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substances criminal-intent mens-rea prescription-authorization regulatory-definition statutory-interpretation I. Is authorization under the Controlled Substances Act defined in terms of the regulatory definition of an effective prescription or by the plain mea…
24-6299 Anthony Fisher v. United States Eighth Circuit 2025-01-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-conviction deferred-judgment felon-in-possession firearms-restriction mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether, in reviewing Mr. Fisher's conviction for possession of ammunition as a convicted felon under 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 924 (a…
24-5880 Eric Schmidt v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-10-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-law drug-offense mens-rea sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation 1. Whether the presumption of mens rea only applies to elements that criminalize otherwise innocent conduct or instead also applies to elements that i…
24A392 Rhobashi Holmes v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-10-22 Presumed Complete appellate-review criminal-statute felon-in-possession firearm-possession mens-rea sentencing Question not identified.
24-5767 Edgar Hernandez Lemus, aka Edgar Hernanez Lemus, and Junior Almendarez Martinez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-10-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-intent felony-proceeds interstate-commerce mens-rea ransom-demand statutory-interpretation "Coyotes" (smugglers) in Mexico duped "pollos" (would-be migrants to the United States) into believing they would be snuck across the border for a neg…
24-5752 Norman Thurber v. United States Eighth Circuit 2024-10-11 Denied IFP criminal-responsibility federal-criminal-law intent mens-rea scienter statutory-interpretation Is there a mens rea requirement for Scienter in 18 U.S.C. Section 2251, since "... criminal responsibility may not be imposed without some element of …
24-5700 Andersen Rable v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-10-03 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP atf-interpretation criminal-procedure evidence-admissibility federal-firearms-license firearms-regulation mens-rea 1. Whether the District Court, Erred When It Refused to Allow Evidence of the Fact That the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (hereinafter ATF), …
24-5661 Angelo Corey Stackhouse v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-09-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-intent federal-jurisdiction interstate-commerce kidnapping-statute mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1), which prohibits kidnapping with the use of any instrumentality of commerce, falls within Congress's power to regula…
24-5646 Lisa Hofschulz, et vir v. United States Seventh Circuit 2024-09-26 Denied IFP administrative-law controlled-substances-act criminal-statute medical-standards mens-rea prescription-authorization 1. Did Congress delegate authority to the Attorney General to define what constitutes an "effective prescription" or an "authorized" distribution of n…
24-5599 David Martins v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-09-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-knowledge drug-prosecution federal-sentencing mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether, in a 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) prosecution, the knowingly mens rea contained in section 841(a)(1) also requires the government to prove that the …
24-5578 Randy Lamartiniere v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-09-19 Denied IFP administrative-delegation controlled-substances-act criminal-statute medical-standards mens-rea prescription-authorization 1. Did Congress delegate authority to the Attorney General to define what constitutes an "effective prescription" or an "authorized" distribution of n…
24-247 Kenneth Kelley v. William S. Bohrer, Warden, et al. Fourth Circuit 2024-09-04 Denied Response Waived criminal-procedure due-process guilty-plea habeas-corpus mens-rea vehicular-homicide Does this Court's clearly established precedent require an explanation and understanding of the elements of each charge to which a defendant pleads gu…
24A184 Richard Allen Harris, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-08-20 Denied armed-career-criminal-act florida-law mens-rea retroactive-interpretation sentencing-enhancement violent-felony Question not identified.
24-5322 Richard Tipton v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-08-14 Denied IFP categorical-approach circuit-split crime-of-violence mens-rea physical-force predicate-offense Section 924(c) of Title 18 of the United States Code criminalizes carrying a firearm in furtherance of a "crime of violence." Per this Court's precede…
24A123 James H. Roane v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-08-02 Presumed Complete borden-standard circuit-split criminal-law mens-rea statutory-interpretation vicar-offense Whether an 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a) (VICAR) offense constitutes the "crime of violence" predicate necessary to support a § 924(c) conviction following this…
24-5156 Rosalio Meledez-Rojas, Francisco Melendez-Perez, Abel Romero-Melendez, and Jose Osvaldo Melendez-Rojas v. United States Second Circuit 2024-07-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP age-of-consent child-exploitation criminal-law federal-criminal-statute federal-jurisdiction intent-requirement mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Must the government prove that a defendant knew that the victim was less than 18 years old to support a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2423?
24-5098 Gerald Smith v. United States District of Columbia 2024-07-17 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP actus-reus crime-of-violence criminal-law mens-rea rule-of-lenity sentencing statutory-interpretation I. Whether this Court should grant a writ of certiorari to determine whether 21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(A) represents a qualifying "crime of violence" unde…
24-5042 Carlos Emanuel Kinard v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-07-10 Denied IFP 18-usc-1959 18-usc-924 assault-definition circuit-split crime-of-violence federal-criminal-law mens-rea racketeering-enterprise vicar-statute If the state or federal crime incorporated into an 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3) conviction categorially does not meet the 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) definition of a…
24-5040 Juan Alberto Ortiz-Orellana v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-07-10 Denied Relisted (2)IFP attempted use but can be committed by accidental means or by fa has as an element the use or threatened use of physical force bodily-injury crime-of-violence felony-murder force-clause mens-rea modified-categorical-approach physical-force premeditated-murder use-of-force Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A), a felony qualifies as a "crime of violence" if it "has as an element the use, at-tempted use, or threatened use of phy…
24-5013 Jonathan Feliz v. United States Second Circuit 2024-07-08 Denied Relisted (2)IFP actus-reus bodily-injury criminal-law criminal-statute elements-clause mens-rea omission physical-force use-of-force violent-crime Whether a crime that requires proof of bodily injury or death, but can be committed by failing to take action, has as an element the use, attempted us…
23-7818 Mark Jordan v. United States Third Circuit 2024-06-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924(c)(8)(a) categorical-approach crime-of-violence divisibility general-intent mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether, in applying the categorical approach, a federal offense that incorporates by reference the commission of an underlying offense is divisibl…
23A1138 Mark Jordan v. United States Third Circuit 2024-06-21 Denied criminal-statute divisibility force-clause mens-rea section-924(c) sentencing-guidelines Question not identified.
23A1129 Stephen K. Bannon v. United States District of Columbia 2024-06-21 Denied Amici (1) contempt-of-congress criminal-statute knowledge-of-law mens-rea statutory-interpretation willfully Question not identified.
23-1293 United States, ex rel. Adam Hart, et al. v. McKesson Corporation, et al. Second Circuit 2024-06-11 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) anti-kickback-statute circuit-split criminal-intent criminal-law federal-health-care-program health-care-fraud mens-rea statutory-interpretation willful-conduct To act "willfully" within the meaning of the Anti-Kickback Statute, must a defendant know that its conduct violates the law?
23-7632 Cordero Passley v. United States Second Circuit 2024-06-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-statute deliberate-intent deliberation first-degree-murder malicious-conduct mens-rea premeditation second-degree-murder willful-killing Whether, for a defendant to commit a "willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated killing" that constitutes first degree murder (as opposed to se…
23-7560 David Darnell Whitehead v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-05-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP alien-smuggling border-crossing criminal-intent criminal-procedure designated-port-of-entry illegal-immigration immigration-law mens-rea port-of-entry statutory-interpretation sufficiency-of-evidence I. IN AN ILLEGAL ALIEN SMUGGLING CASE, WHAT CONSTITUTES BRINGING TO OR ENTERING THE UNITED STATES "AT A PLACE OTHER THAN A DESIGNATED PORT OF ENTRY", …
23A1040 Al Dorsey v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-05-22 Presumed Complete circuit-split crime-of-violence elements-clause facilitation-offense mens-rea sentencing-guidelines Question not identified.
23-7532 In Re Keith Hager 2024-05-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP charging-instrument criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process judicial-authority mandamus mens-rea sentencing statutory-interpretation writ-of-mandamus WHETHER THIS COURT MUST ISSUE A WRIT OF MANDAMUS WHERE A FEDERAL COURT LACKED AUTHORITY TO SENTENCE PETITIONER UPON AN OFFENSE FOR WHICH CONGRESS DID …
23-1168 Dearnta Lavon Thomas v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-04-30 Denied 18-usc-1959 18-usc-924c categorical-approach crime-of-violence mens-rea predicate-offense racketeering-enterprise vicar VICAR-statute The question presented is whether, when a defendant's § 924(c) conviction is predicated on a VICAR offense, a court must apply the categorical approac…
23-7241 Michael Allen v. Fidencio N. Guzman, Acting Warden Ninth Circuit 2024-04-17 Denied IFP 14th-amendment aider-and-abettor constitutional-law criminal-law due-process equal-protection fourteenth-amendment mens-rea statutory-interpretation (1) Does California Penal Code Section 117.95(a)(l)-(3) statute violates The United States Constitution 14th AmendmentEqual Protection of the law by …
23-7222 Evaristo Contreras Silva v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-04-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof criminal-firearm-possession criminal-law firearms immigration immigration-status intent-element mens-rea rehaif-standard rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation Whether, in prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5), the Government must–in order to separate wrongful acts from innocent acts–offer direct evidence …
23-7173 John Lee Barlow v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-04-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach criminal-law felony-classification georgia-law mens-rea recklessness sentencing sentencing-guidelines supreme-court Did the Court of Appeals err when it categorically ruled that Mr. Barlow's two 2013 counts of conviction for Georgia aggravated assault constituted "c…
23-7114 Richard Marschall v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-04-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP drug-mislabeling due-process felony fifth-amendment food-and-drug-administration mens-rea recidivist recidivist-enhancement strict-liability 1. Whether the Due Process clause of the Fifth Amendment mandates a mens rea term for the felony recidivist enhancement, 21 U.S.C. § 333(a)(2), of the…
23A866 Nicholas Newman v. United States Tenth Circuit 2024-03-28 Denied assault-statute collateral-attack-waiver federal-officer mens-rea plea-agreement recklessness 1. Whether reasonable jurors could debate whether assault against a federal officer under 18 U.S.C. § 111 can be committed with a mens rea of reckless…
23-928 Yun Zheng, aka Wendy Zheng, and Yan Qiu Wu, aka Jason Wu v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-02-27 Denied circuit-split harboring-aliens harmless-error immigration-law jury-instruction jury-instructions mens-rea neder-v-united-states (i) Whether a jury instruction under 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii), which prohibits the "harbor[ing]" of anyone who is in the United States illegally, …
23-918 Ranito Allen v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-02-26 Denied Relisted (2) 18-usc-924 actus-reus criminal-law federal-criminal-statute mens-rea omission-liability physical-force sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation violent-crime Whether an offense that can be committed through omission or inaction can "ha[ve] as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical …
23-6790 James Hamilton v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-02-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split drug-sentencing ineffective-assistance mens-rea sixth-amendment statutory-interpretation Counsel ineffective in violation of the Sixth Amendment for failing to recognize and address the methamphetamine disparity violation committed by the …
23-6673 Lillian Akwuba v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-02-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance criminal-procedure harmless-error intent-element jury-instruction jury-instructions medical-care mens-rea standard-of-care In Ruan v. United States, 597 U.S. 450, 454 (2022), this Court held that to convict an authorized person of distributing a controlled substance under …
23-6681 Danny Lowe v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-02-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal criminal-intent due-process harmless-error jury-instruction jury-instructions mens-rea ninth-circuit sex-trafficking Danny Ray Lowe was convicted of attempting to sex traffic two fictional minors in an undercover sing. As the Court of Appeals acknowledged, "The criti…
23-6555 Luis Aceves-Ramirez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-01-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law drug-offense drug-offenses enhancement importation knowledge-requirement mens-rea methamphetamine sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the two-level enhancement in U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(5) for a drug offense that involves imported methamphetamine requires that the defendant knew…
23-6531 Terrance Brown v. United States Seventh Circuit 2024-01-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP borden-v-united-states career-offender crime-of-violence criminal-conviction criminal-sentencing district-court judicial-review mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation supreme-court-precedent 00hcVVvLC iht ddrtricrt coox-v trct6 vo $\o&[no^ -vViod Brouon \S a cac^r o-^ockr vxadxr U-S.S.G MfeU aad M5LZ, AoWerc OAt, Brouon ^ pccdxodc coavxc-…
23-6477 Jamaile L. Huey v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-01-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP borden-v-united-states crime-of-violence criminal-law federal-jurisdiction fourth-circuit mens-rea robbery robbery-statute sentencing sentencing-guidelines violent-crime Whether a state robbery conviction, sustained under a statute without a specified mens rea for the element of violence or threat of violence, but with…
23-6413 Donald Bill Smith v. United States Eighth Circuit 2024-01-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-1512 burden-of-proof circuit-split criminal-procedure criminal-statute drug-conspiracy mens-rea official-proceeding witness-tampering 1. Whether the witness tampering resulting in death statute, 18 U.S.C. §§1512(a)(1)(A) and (k), requires the Government to prove beyond a reasonable d…
23-716 Shawn Mark Henry v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-01-03 Denied Response Waived anti-kickback-statute criminal-intent federal-benefits federal-healthcare-benefits healthcare-fraud interstate-commerce mens-rea statutory-interpretation travel-act I. Does the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(b)(1), require the government to prove that the defendant received remuneration for referring p…
23A598 Lillian Akwuba v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-12-29 Presumed Complete controlled-substances criminal-intent drug-distribution good-faith jury-instructions mens-rea Question not identified.
23-6399 Michael Salinas v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-12-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-intent criminal-law drug-conspiracy mandatory-minimum mens-rea sentencing sentencing-enhancement Whether, to prove conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance triggering mandatory-minimum and increased-maximum penalties, the government must pr…
23-6297 Kevin Hewlett v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-12-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-2251 cellphone-evidence child-pornography commerce-clause criminal-conduct criminal-law criminal-procedure interstate-commerce jury-instruction mens-rea 1) Whether the use of an internationally-manufactured cellphone in criminal conduct is, by itself, a sufficient nexus to interstate commerce to satisf…
23-6177 Sylvia Olivas, aka Sylvia Lee Gavaldon v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-12-06 GVR Relisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-activity criminal-procedure expert-testimony expert-witness federal-rules-of-evidence mens-rea mental-state trier-of-fact Rule 704(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence provides: In a criminal case, an expert witness must not state an opinion about whether the defendant did…
23-6130 Sylvia Hofstetter v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-11-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substances criminal-procedure jury-instructions mens-rea plain-error ruan-standard ruan-v-united-states sixth-circuit 1. On October 17, 2022, this Court vacated the opinion of the Sixth Circuit affirming Petitioner Sylvia Hofstetters convictions and remanded for furth…
23-6122 Courtney Newman v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-11-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substances criminal-procedure jury-instructions mens-rea plain-error ruan-v-united-states On October 17, 2022, this Court vacated Petitioner Newman's conviction in light of Ruan v. United States, 142 S. Ct. 2370, 213 L. Ed. 2d 706 (2022) an…
23-6116 Cynthia Clemons v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-11-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substances criminal-procedure jury-instruction jury-instructions mens-rea plain-error ruan-v-united-states sixth-circuit supreme-court-precedent On October 17, 2022, this Court vacated the opinion of the Sixth Circuit affirming Petitioner Cynthia Clemons' convictions and remanded for further pr…
23-5975 Caesar Mark Capistrano v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-11-08 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP circuit-court civil-rights due-process judicial-interpretation jury-instruction mens-rea prosecutorial-discretion reversal statutory-construction supreme-court-precedent 1. Are inferior courts, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in particular, allowed unrestricted and unrestrained freedom to interpret the clear and une…
23-5846 Jong Whan Kim v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-10-20 Denied Amici (1)Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure federal-courts indictment mens-rea plea-hearing rule-11 Is it error for a district court to rely on a defendant's pre-hearing review of the indictment to inform him of the nature of the offense?
23-5796 Jose Folch-Colon v. United States First Circuit 2023-10-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-abetting aiding-and-abetting criminal-intent criminal-law criminal-procedure criminal-statute federal-law mens-rea racketeering VICAR violent-crime If by procuring and paying for the commission of murder, Petitioner aided and abetted a crime of violence in aid of racketeering (VICAR) as defined in…
23-5812 Jurmaine A. Jeffries v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-10-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP burrage-v-united-states criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offense due-process mens-rea proximate-causation racial-disparities sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation After this Court's decision in Burrage v. United States, 571 U.S. 204 (2014), the Circuit Courts have accepted that "death results" in 21 U.S.C. 841(b…
23-336 Keith Allen Kiefer v. Isanti County, Minnesota Eighth Circuit 2023-09-29 Denied Response Waived 42-usc-1983 civil-rights due-process fourteenth-amendment fourth-amendment mens-rea postconviction-incarceration section-1983 unreasonable-seizure After a criminal trial under a county's civil solid waste ordinance specific to solid-waste management opera-tions, the county incarcerated the petiti…
23-301 James E. Workman v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-09-26 Denied Response Waived criminal-intent criminal-law disability-benefits due-process fraud government-funds mens-rea reporting-obligation social-security social-security-fraud wire-fraud 1. The criminal charges of wire fraud, theft of government funds, and social security fraud each required proof that Workman engaged in fraudulent act…
23-5572 Joseph W. Fischer v. United States District of Columbia 2023-09-13 Judgment Issued Amici (12)Relisted (2)IFP circuit-split congressional-inquiry congressional-investigations criminal-procedure mens-rea obstruction-of-justice statutory-construction statutory-interpretation vagueness witness-tampering Did the D.C. Circuit err in construing 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c) ("Witness, Victim, or Informant Tampering"), which prohibits obstruction of congressional i…
23-238 Roger Dale Anderson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-09-12 Denied comport with the Supreme Court's holding in Ruan which did not explicitly reference the Controlled controlled-substances-act criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process jury-instructions medical-practice medical-professional-liability mens-rea statutory-interpretation In Ruan v. United States, 142 S. Ct. 2370 (2022), this Court held that a physician may be convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), of the Controlled Sub…
23A222 Jong Whan Kim v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-09-07 Presumed Complete criminal-procedure guilty-plea mens-rea nature-of-charges ruan-v-united-states rule-11-colloquy Question not identified.
23-5403 Luis Alfredo Moreira Bravo v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-08-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-intent criminal-law due-process federal-statute federal-transportation-of-a-minor interstate-transportation mens-rea minor-age sexual-offense statutory-interpretation statutory-rape Whether an individual may be convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 2423(a) for transportation of a minor, without regard to whether the defendant knew of the in…
23-5392 Angelo Joseph Fernandez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-08-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP crime-of-violence criminal-law domestic-violence mens-rea prior-conviction recklessness sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation supreme-court 1. Does the petitioner's prior conviction for corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant under California Penal Code § 273.5(a) qualify as a crime of v…
23-5379 Everett Charles Wills, II v. Louisiana Louisiana 2023-08-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP actus-reus counsel-concession criminal-defendant-rights criminal-procedure ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mens-rea retroactivity right-to-counsel sixth-amendment trial-strategy When guilt is the sole issue for the jury to decide, is it permissible for counsel to unilaterally concede the essential elements (actus reus and mens…
23-5314 Joe Crawford v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-08-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP confidential-informant criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process evidence evidence-sufficiency felony-conviction jury-instructions mens-rea reasonable-doubt rehaif-standard réhaif-v-united-states WHETHER IN LIGHT OF Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 204 L.Ed.2d (2019), WAS THE EVIDENCE INSUFFICIENT TO SUSTAIN A CONVICTION WHEN THE GOVERN…
23-94 Garret Miller v. United States District of Columbia 2023-08-01 GVR Relisted (3) congressional-proceedings criminal-law criminal-statute electoral-certification electoral-college intent-element mens-rea obstruction-of-justice prosecutorial-discretion statutory-interpretation Whether the obstruction-of-justice offenses in 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c) cover only acts that affect the integrity or availability of evidence, or whether t…
23-5207 Omar Alfonso Alas v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-07-26 Denied IFP 18-usc-16a categorical-approach crime-of-violence crimes-of-violence immigration mens-rea physical-force sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether a crime with a mens rea of extreme recklessness has, "as an element, the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the…
23-5195 Cynthia Kaye Wood v. Texas Texas 2023-07-25 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-intent criminal-procedure due-process guilty-plea habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance mens-rea specific-intent voluntary-plea In Texas, the ens rea for attempted capital murder is a specific intent to kill. The defendant did not know this. Thus, she pled guilty although she h…
23-64 Bennie Charles Phillips, Jr. v. United States, et al. Fifth Circuit 2023-07-24 Denied Response Waived attempted-robbery criminal-attempt criminal-law federal-criminal-law hobbs-act mens-rea mere-preparation substantial-step uniform-test 1. What particularized standard should be adopted to create a uniform test for when conduct surpasses "mere preparation" and constitutes a "substantia…
23-5139 Jacinto Alvarez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-07-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP attempted-crime circuit-split crime-of-violence criminal-law due-process federal-criminal-law intent-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation Does the "attempted use of force" clause in the crime of violence definition at 18 U.S.C. § 16(a) require an "intent" to use force against another?
23-5076 David Linehan v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-07-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP attempted-use circuit-split criminal-law criminal-solicitation elements-clause federal-felony interstate-commerce mens-rea physical-force Whether "attempted use" in the elements clause means taking a substantial step toward the use of physical force plus the specific intent to use such f…
23-5059 Savon Hardaway v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-07-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender criminal-procedure felon-in-possession guilty-plea harmless-error mens-rea plea-agreement rehaif-advisement rehaif-v-united-states sentencing-error I. Mr. Hardaway pleaded guilty to a felon in possession charge. The district court arraigned Mr. Hardaway after this Court's decision in Rehaif v. Uni…
23-14 Delilah Guadalupe Diaz v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-07-05 Judgment Issued Amici (3)Relisted (2) criminal-procedure drug-trafficking evidence evidence-law expert-testimony mens-rea mental-state rule-704(b) rule-704b In a prosecution for drug trafficking—where an element of the offense is that the defendant knew she was carrying illegal drugs—does Rule 704(b) permi…
22-7872 Carmelita Barela v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-06-27 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP borden-v-united-states circuit-split crime-of-violence force-definition hobbs-act mens-rea stokeling-v-united-states violent-felony The circuit courts have held unanimously that Hobbs Act robbery qualifies categorically as a "violent felony" and "crime of violence." Therefore, all …
22-7806 Travis Charles Werkmeister v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-06-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing drug-offense drug-trafficking federal-sentencing-guidelines mens-rea methamphetamine-importation scienter-requirement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation 1. Whether this Court should grant the Writ to resolve a circuit split as to whether the two level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 (b) (5) contains…
22-1203 Alan Patrick Fowler v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2023-06-13 Denied confrontation-clause confrontation-right constitutional-rights criminal-law criminal-sentencing due-process ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mens-rea mental-health sentencing specific-intent 1) Could reasonable jurists disagree on whether there is insufficient evidence of specific intent to commit murder where Fowler never shot at a person…
22-7692 Gregory Allen Oaks v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-06-02 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act assault-offense circuit-split drunk-driving fourth-circuit mens-rea reckless-mens-rea violent-felony In Borden v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1817 (2021), five Justices of this Court agreed that offenses with a reckless mens rea do not qualify as a "vio…
22-7531 Chykeetra Maltbia v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-05-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP briefing circuit-court criminal-procedure due-process insufficient-evidence legal-error mens-rea miscarriage-of-justice plain-error prejudice regulatory-provisions Whether the Circuit Court erred in finding that the defendant had not established prejudice due to an omitted mens rea element based on what it believ…
22-7437 Kevin Darrell Miller v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-05-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP contemporaneous-conduct criminal-procedure drug-distribution drug-use evidence evidence-admissibility intent-standard mens-rea possession Whether, in a drug distribution trial, evidence of a defendant's drug use and simple possession is admissible to prove mens rea if the use and possess…
22-7282 David William Linder v. Brian Lammer, Warden Seventh Circuit 2023-04-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP analogue-drugs controlled-substances criminal-procedure drug-statute federal-cases jury-instructions mens-rea standing supreme-court-rule-14.1(b) Can the drug death statute, 21 § 841(b)(1)(C) be enlarged to include analogue drugs? Can a McFadden review of a defendant's mens rea be performed by …
22-7292 Jason Edward Simpson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-04-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 controlled-substances-act criminal-procedure due-process jury-finding jury-instructions knowledge-element mens-rea reasonable-doubt statutory-minimum-maximum statutory-sentencing 1. Whether a conviction of a substantive offense under 21 U.S.C. § 841 of the Controlled Substances Act ("CSA") requires that a jury find beyond a rea…
22-7240 Cole Lusby v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-04-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause criminal-law criminal-statute due-process facial-vagueness mens-rea sex-offender-registration vagueness-challenge 1) Whether this Court's decisions in Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015) and its progeny enable defendants to raise facial vagueness chal…
22-7045 John Leendert Oskam v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-03-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP actus-reus bank-robbery criminal-law criminal-statute intimidation mens-rea physical-force supreme-court-precedent Under the Court's recent decisions in United States v. Taylor, 142 S. Ct. 2015 (2022), and Borden v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1817 (2021), does the e…
22-6969 Christopher Ashley Shetskie v. Colorado Colorado 2023-03-08 Denied IFP criminal-law due-process fourteenth-amendment mens-rea mental-state murder murder-statute sixth-amendment Question I: Whether the Sixth Amendment ' jury-trial guarantee, taken together with the Fourteenth Amendments ' right to due process require that the …
22-6970 Jeffrey Kesten v. United States Tenth Circuit 2023-03-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-waiver constitutional-law criminal-procedure due-process judicial-enforcement mens-rea plea-agreement (1) Can a court enforce an appeal waiver from a plea agreement when the defendant was not informed of and did not plea to the proper mens rea element …
22-849 Rickie Foy v. United States Seventh Circuit 2023-03-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) bank-theft criminal-intent criminal-law felony-bank-theft mens-rea sentencing statutory-interpretation substantive-element valuation-requirement Whether a conviction for conspiring to commit felony bank theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 2113(b), requires the government to prove that t…
22-6869 Daniel Earl Genson, III v. Kansas Kansas 2023-02-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-principles criminal-law criminal-punishment due-process fourteenth-amendment fundamental-rights mens-rea strict-liability Whether the absence of mens rea from a felony offense that criminalizes passive, otherwise innocent conduct without proof of notice while subjecting i…
22-809 Texas State LULAC, et al. v. Lupe C. Torres, in Her Official Capacity as the Medina County Elections Administrator, et al. Fifth Circuit 2023-02-27 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) causation circuit-split first-amendment government-act injury mens-rea self-censorship standing 1. To have standing to challenge an unlawful government act, must a plaintiff show that the act is the sole cause of its injury, as the Fifth Circuit …
22-6829 Quinton Birdinground, Jr. v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-02-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP crime-of-violence criminal-law due-process federal-criminal-law mens-rea recklessness second-degree-murder sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation violent-crimes In Borden v. United States, 141 S.Ct. 1817, 1825 (2021), this Court held that, in order to qualify as a crime of violence, an offense must require pro…
22-6843 Edgar Barrera v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-02-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process federal-jurisdiction mandatory-minimum mens-rea non-elemental-facts plea-bargaining preponderance-standard sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation 1) Whether the Constitution permits a sentencing judge to find non-elemental facts by a preponderance of the evidence and then rely on those facts to …
22-6681 Shane Swindall Chambers v. Fredeane Artis, Acting Warden Sixth Circuit 2023-02-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP actus-reus constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process evidence jury-instructions mens-rea modus-operandi other-acts-evidence trial-court WHETHER PETITIONER WAS DEPRIVED OF HIS LIBERTY WITHOUT FIRST THE DUE PROCESS OF LAW WHERE A FALSE MODUS OPERANDI REQUIRED TO ADMIT OTHER ACTS EVIDENCE…
22-6634 Rafael Espino v. United States Second Circuit 2023-01-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-liability deliberate-actions due-process global-tech-appliances knowledge-standard mens-rea subjective-belief willful-blindness The majority of federal statutes require a defendant to act "knowingly" to incur criminal liability, meaning that the defendant must have actual knowl…
22-6578 Derrick Tyrone Moore v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-01-19 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act burglary-statute federal-courts generic-offense mens-rea precedent state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether there is a reasonable probability of different result if the court below is directed to reconsider its judgment in light of Wooden v. United S…
22-6541 Garrett Statler v. Florida Florida 2023-01-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law due-process fourteenth-amendment mens-rea sexual-battery state-court-conflict statutory-interpretation 1. Whether Florida's sexual battery statute for acts applicable to adults with no physical force or violence violates the Fourteenth Amendment because…
22-6323 Luis R. Figueroa-Gonzalez v. United States First Circuit 2022-12-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP circumstantial-evidence criminal-law evidence firearm-alteration firearms knowledge-inference machine-gun mens-rea statutory-definition statutory-interpretation supervised-release Whether the presence of a visible alteration in a seized firearm is sufficient to satisfy the government's burden to prove that the defendant knew of …
22-6288 Mangwiro Sadiki-Yisrael v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-12-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP base-offense-level first-degree-murder guilty-plea mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states rico-conspiracy sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation statutory-max Whether in a RICO conspiracy case the government is required to prove a defendant's mens rea and knowledge of first-degree murder to establish the sta…
22-6130 Darvill Jimmy Joseph Bragg v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-11-22 Denied IFP categorical-approach circuit-split criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing gonzales-v-duenas-alvarez mens-rea sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation taylor-v-united-states Whether plainly overbroad statutory language is sufficient to establish a prior state conviction is broader than the generic definition of a criminal …
22-6067 Yazan Al-Madani v. United States Sixth Circuit 2022-11-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review enterprise fraud hobbs-act mens-rea public-official rico rico-act sentencing-error victim Question One: Whether under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO ") an entity can be both an "enterprise " and a "victim " - …
22-6013 Damian Robert Guthary v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-11-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-922g criminal-law criminal-procedure guilty-plea mens-rea plain-error rehaif rehaif-error statutory-interpretation Whether Petitioner satisfies Greer's plain error standard for relief from Rehaif error arising from his guilty plea under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) where the…
22-5970 David Antoine Luster v. R. M. Wolfe, Warden Fourth Circuit 2022-11-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-2113(d) 924(c)(3)(a) armed-bank-robbery borden-v-united-states categorical-approach criminal-procedure mens-rea plea-bargaining sentencing statutory-interpretation Question of Law : In light of Borden v. United States, 141 S.Ct. 1821 (2021), under the categorical approach the element narrow enough to be deemed a …
22-5902 Monica Rodriguez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-10-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 circuit-split controlled-substance drug-conspiracy mandatory-minimum mens-rea sentencing sentencing-enhancement To prove conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance triggering mandatory-minimum and increased-maximum penalties, does the government need to est…
22-357 Mashour Howling v. Maryland Maryland 2022-10-18 Denied Response Waived criminal-felony due-process inter-state-comity lambert-v-california mens-rea morissette-v-united-states rehaif-v-united-states second-amendment status-violation 1. Whether in state criminal felony cases premised upon inter-state comity concerns of state statutes conflicting on the legal effect given the underl…
22-339 Pfizer Inc. v. Department of Health and Human Services, et al. Second Circuit 2022-10-12 Denied Amici (5) advisory-opinion-process anti-kickback-statute criminal-intent healthcare-fraud medical-decision-making medicare mens-rea remuneration rule-of-lenity statutory-interpretation Whether the AKS is violated only if the person offering the "remuneration * * * to induce" the purchase of federally reimbursed healthcare intends to …
22-5751 Mark Ryan Shipley, aka Marc R. Shipley, aka Marc Ryan Shipley v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-10-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process federal-firearms-law felon-in-possession mens-rea rehaif statutory-interpretation DOES THE KNOWINGLY ELEMENT APPLY TO U.S.C. $921 (a)(20)? DOES A STIPULATION AT THE TIME OF TRIAL THAT A DEFENDANT HAD AT SOME POINT IN THE PAST CQMIT…
22-5693 Rosa Isela Acuna v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-09-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-conviction criminal-law drug-importation due-process mens-rea sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether, under 21 U.S.C. § 960, a defendant who know ingly imports a controlled substance can be convicted and subjected to an enhanced punishment o…
22-5638 Hector Martinez-Robos v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-09-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substances criminal-procedure jury-instructions mandatory-minimum-sentences mens-rea plain-error sentencing statutory-interpretation 1. Whether an instructional error is "plain" for purposes of Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b) when the charge to the jury is erroneous under an opinion of this …
22-5521 Jesus Jesse Gonzalez v. Texas Texas 2022-09-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-commitment criminal-law dangerousness due-process intentional-offense mens-rea mental-capacity mental-health sexual-predator texas-law Can a person be unable to control his dangerousness, thus rendering him eligible for civil commitment as a sexual predator, but simultaneously be able…
22-5534 Glenn A. Chin v. United States First Circuit 2022-09-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-forfeiture criminal-sentencing due-process mens-rea reckless-conduct sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation tax-withholding u.s.s.g.-2b1.1 1. Did the District Court clearly err in finding that the defendant's conduct involved a reckless risk of death or serious bodily injury, triggering a…
22-5489 Under Seal v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-09-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach crime-of-violence juvenile-justice juvenile-justice-detention-act malicious-wounding mens-rea reckless-mens-rea statutory-interpretation Whether Virginia's crime of Malicious Wounding, Va. Code 18.2-51, is a crime of violence under the categorical approach, thereby implicating the Juven…
22-5378 Robert Collazo, Lino Delgado-Vidaca, Julio Rodriguez, and Steven Amador v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-08-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-penalties drug-distribution due-process mandatory-minimum mens-rea sentencing Whether, to prove conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance triggering mandatory-minimum and increased-maximum penalties, the Government must sh…
22-139 Sari Alqsous v. United States Sixth Circuit 2022-08-15 Denied Response Waived charge-conference confrontation-clause criminal-procedure due-process hobbs-act mens-rea public-official sentencing sixth-circuit Whether the Sixth Circuit erred in analyzing ruling that Petitioner was not entitled to be present during the Charge Conference under Fed. R. Crim. P.…
22-5355 Carlocito Slim, aka Carlocito Ponce Slim v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-08-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP age-of-consent criminal-intent criminal-law due-process entrapment law-enforcement-conduct mens-rea sex-trafficking statutory-interpretation victim-age I. Whether a defendant can be convicted under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2422(b) or 1591(a)(1) on the basis of inconsistent ages of a single non-existent victim giv…
22-110 Julian D. Schmidt v. United States Armed Forces 2022-08-03 Denied Response Waived child-endangerment child-protection criminal-law intent-standard mens-rea physical-proximity proximity-definition sensory-awareness statutory-interpretation 1. Does the ambiguous phrase "in the presence of a child" require the child to be aware of the conduct through a sensory connection, regardless of phy…
22-5243 Grover D. Cannon v. Louisiana Louisiana 2022-08-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP actus-reus constitutional-law criminal-procedure defense-counsel mccoy-v-louisiana mens-rea right-to-autonomy self-defense sixth-amendment Did Louisiana's courts violate Grover D. Cannon's Sixth Amendment rights recognized in McCoy by allowing Mr. Cannon's defense counsel over Mr. Cannon'…
22-5196 Malik Holloway v. United States Second Circuit 2022-07-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law due-process federal-courthouse federal-courts mens-rea statutory-interpretation vagueness-doctrine void-for-vagueness weapon-possession Isn't 18 U.S.C. §930(e)(1) which criminalizes the mere possession in a federal courthouse of practically any item unconstitutionally vague?
22-5169 Antoine Deshawn Barnes v. T.V. Nationwide Network, et al. Ninth Circuit 2022-07-25 Denied IFP civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-interpretation criminal-statute due-process free-speech legal-challenge mens-rea standing state-court statutory-construction takings Question not identified.
22-5159 Eddie Lamont Lipscomb v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-07-22 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP armed-career-criminal-act demand-for-certainty federal-courts mens-rea state-criminal-law state-law statutory-interpretation texas-penal-code violent-felony 1. When evaluating whether a state-law offense satisfies the Armed Career Criminal Act's definition of a "violent felony," 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B), f…
22-10 David Fox Dubin v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-07-05 Judgment Issued Amici (4)Relisted (4) circuit-split criminal-law due-process identity-theft lawful-authority means-of-identification mens-rea predicate-offense statutory-interpretation The federal aggravated identity theft statute provides: "Whoever, during and in relation to any felony violation enumerated [elsewhere in the statute]…
21-8268 Roger Acosta v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-06-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure federal-jurisdiction federal-prosecution indictment indictment-defect mens-rea rehaif-standard structural-error Petitioners were each convicted of possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. After their convictions became final, this Court held in Rehaif v. Uni…
21-8278 Glen Hunsberger v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-06-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP drug-conspiracy drug-trafficking due-process fifth-amendment mens-rea statutory-interpretation vagueness vagueness-doctrine Whether the aggregation of two statutes, one requiring specific intent, 21 U.S.C. § 846, and the other, strict liability, 21 U.S.C. § 860, requires a …
21-8217 Herbert Bernard Johnson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2022-06-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-statute due-process federal-criminal-code federal-criminal-law mens-rea prosecutorial-discretion sexual-activity sexual-offense statutory-interpretation statutory-language Should this Court grant the petition for writ of certiorari to resolve whether the statutory language of 18 U.S.C. §2422(b)'s "any sexual activity for…
21-8195 Arthur Lee Robinson v. United States Seventh Circuit 2022-06-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act borden-v-united-states criminal-sentencing firearm-discharge illinois-law mens-rea statutory-interpretation use-of-force violent-felony The Armed Career Criminal Act provides an enhanced penalty for felons in possession of a firearm with three prior qualifying convictions, including fo…
21-8182 Reuben Conway v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-06-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure federal-courts federal-jurisdiction indictment indictment-defect jurisdiction mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation After Petitioner Reuben Conway was charged, convicted, and sentenced for prohibited person in possession of a firearm, this Court overturned near-unan…
21-8162 Darnell Pearson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-06-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 21-usc-841 controlled-substances criminal-law drug-distribution mens-rea reasonable-foreseeability serious-bodily-injury statutory-interpretation Whether a charge of drug distribution resulting in "death or serious bodily injury" under 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(4)(c) requires the government…
21-8009 Joshua Rodney Meech v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-06-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-922a6 appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process firearm-regulation huddleston-v-united-states mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states standing statutory-interpretation united-states-v-bailey At a sporting goods store Petitioner was considering the purchase of a firearm. The store clerk asked Petitioner to identify himself and fill out the …
21-7994 Vincent James Sanchez, aka Vincent Sanches, aka Enrique Sanchez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-05-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP borden-v-united-states circuit-split criminal-law elements-clause mens-rea reckless-crimes specific-intent statutory-interpretation Does Borden v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1817 (2021), mean that the elements clause requires the specific intent to use, attempt to use, or threaten t…
21-7958 Oscar Luna-Aquino v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-05-24 Denied Amici (1)Response WaivedIFP aggravated-offense criminal-intent criminal-law drug-importation mens-rea sentencing-factors statutory-elements statutory-sentencing Whether a mens rea applies to the drug-type-and-quantity elements of an aggravated drug importation offense, where those elements substantially increa…
21-7638 Carlos Jimenez v. United States First Circuit 2022-04-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-defendant criminal-law drug-offenses drug-quantity mandatory-minimums mens-rea scienter sentencing statutory-interpretation supreme-court Whether the government can subject a criminal defendant to the escalating mandatory minimums and maximums under 18 U.S.C. § 841(b), without proving th…
21-7630 Mickey Roy Anderson, Sr. v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-04-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure appellate-split criminal-law deliberation first-degree-murder mens-rea premeditation I. Whether this Court should resolve the split in the courts of appeal as to whether a mere matter of seconds suffice as premeditation for first degre…
21-7623 Mary Ann Lara v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-04-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP Section 841 burden-of-proof controlled-substances criminal-intent criminal-law drug-quantity drug-trafficking federal-prosecution mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation Whether, in prosecutions brought under Title 21, Section 841, the Government must prove a defendant's knowledge of drug type and quantity?
21-7403 James Calvin Breeden v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-03-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-procedure felon-in-possession firearm-possession jury-instructions mens-rea rehaif-standard rehaif-v-united-states rule-29 rule-29-motion Whether the district court erred under Rehaif v. United States by denying requested jury instructions and a Rule 29 motion for acquittal on the felon-…
21-7398 Ricardo Rizo-Rizo v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-03-16 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP criminal-law immigration immigration-law mens-rea ninth-circuit presumption-of-mens-rea public-welfare-exception public-welfare-offense statutory-interpretation Whether 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(1) fits under the public-welfare/regulatory exception to the presumption of mens rea when the statute does not involve "dan…
21-7330 Japher Yosuf Rajab v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-03-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP age-of-consent conviction criminal-law due-process federal-statute law-enforcement mens-rea non-existent-victim statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. § 2422 (b) authorizes a conviction based on an imaginary, non-existent victim. Whether a defendant can be convicted under 18 U.S.C.…
21-7226 Christopher Ronald Martin v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-02-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law federal-jurisdiction federal-sentencing generic-robbery mens-rea recklessness sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation () Whether generic robbery, as used in federal sentencing enhancement provisions, encompasses robbery offenses that only require a mens rea of mere re…
21-7151 Quentin Jackson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-02-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-statute elements-clause mens-rea predicate-offense reasonable-person sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation threat-of-force QUESTION ONE: The circuit courts agree that a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) will be sustained even if the defendant was not aware that his cond…
21-7129 Erik Quiroz Razo v. United States Ninth Circuit 2022-02-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-and-abetting conspiracy criminal-law inchoate-crimes incomplete-crimes mens-rea 1. Whether a defendant can be convicted of conspiring to aid and abet a crime when the underlying crime is never completed? 2. Whether, to conspire t…
21-7079 Reginald Glenn v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-02-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravated-assault circuit-split criminal-law generic-offense mens-rea sentencing sentencing-guidelines u.s.s.g.-4b1.2 To be a "crime of violence" under the enumerated clause of U.S.S.G. §4B1.2(a)(2), an offense must have elements that match or are narrower than the el…
21-7014 Vicente Lopez-Sanchez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-01-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP assault criminal-intent criminal-procedure due-process jury-instruction jury-instructions law-enforcement mens-rea Whether the district court erred by denying the defense's jury instruction stating that for a finding of guilt, Mr. Lopez had to know that the person …
21-1008 Andres Mencia v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-01-20 GVR Relisted (2) criminal-conduct criminal-intent criminal-liability due-process expert-testimony good-faith-defense medical-practice medical-standard-of-care mens-rea prosecutorial-discretion standard-of-care For more than a decade, the civil standard of care established for the practice of medicine has been utilized by federal prosecutors in criminal prose…
21-1006 Marc S. Kirschner v. Dennis J. FitzSimons, et al. Second Circuit 2022-01-14 Denied Amici (3)Response Waived bankruptcy bankruptcy-trustee corporate-governance corporate-intent fiduciary-duty fraudulent-transfer imputation leveraged-buyout mens-rea section-548 Under 11 U.S.C. § 548(a)(1)(A), a bankruptcy trustee may avoid a transfer if the debtor "made such transfer . . . with actual intent to hinder, delay,…
21-6816 N'Neka L. Crews v. Colorado Colorado 2022-01-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP accident-law criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process federalism fourteenth-amendment mens-rea public-welfare-offense strict-liability I. Whether the Colorado Supreme Court's interpretation, that a criminal leaving the scene of an accident law without a stated mens rea meant that it w…
21-6733 Freddie Cleveland v. Chad Wakefield, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Smithfield, et al. Third Circuit 2021-12-27 Denied IFP actual-innocence certificate-of-appealability civil-procedure discretionary-review due-process federal-rules-of-civil-procedure gonzalez-v-crosby mens-rea rule-60b6 third-circuit Did the District Court and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit abuse its discretion when not granting Petitioner's certificate of appealability…
21-6592 Donald Stanley v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-12-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law drug-statute mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums mens-rea ninth-circuit-precedent rehaif-v-united-states sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-construction statutory-interpretation Whether the knowingly mens rea in 21 U.S.C. § 841 applies to the elements of drug type and quantity that establish mandatory minimum and enhanced maxi…
21-851 Richa Narang v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-12-08 Denied burden-of-proof criminal-procedure due-process grand-jury indictment jurisdiction mens-rea reinstatement statute 1. Whether a district court has jurisdiction to try a defendant upon a finally dismissed indictment that the government has never sought to reinstate,…
21-6427 Antonio Lorensito Garrido v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-11-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-sentencing drug-crimes mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation I. Should this Court resolve a division among the circuit courts regarding whether the two-level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. §2D1.1(b)(5) for the…
21-6280 Johnny Williams v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-11-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-sentencing drug-conspiracy drug-distribution-conspiracy due-process enhanced-sentence mens-rea statutory-construction statutory-interpretation When the Government clearly defines the scope and object of a drug distribution conspiracy in a charging Indictment, do the lower courts err when they…
21-6225 Edwin Guzman and Herzzon Sandoval v. United States First Circuit 2021-11-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP accessory-after-fact accessory-after-the-fact circuit-split equipoise expert-testimony gatekeeping-function general-understanding mens-rea RICO-conspiracy RICO-predicate-offenses specific-understanding 1. Whether the First Circuit misapplied this Court's rulings on RICO Conspiracy by approving an instruction allowing a jury to convict if it determine…
21-6211 Cubby Wayne Williams v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-11-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP brain-injury cognitive-deficits criminal-procedure due-process evidence expert-testimony good-faith mens-rea rule-702 traumatic-brain-injury willfulness Whether, in a case in which the government was required to prove that the defendant was not working from a good faith misunderstanding of the law, the…
21-6119 Roger Edward Picard v. United States First Circuit 2021-10-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law due-process mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states scienter sorna SORNA-registration supervised-release I. Did the First Circuit depart from this Court's decision in Rehaif v. United States, 588 U.S. ___ (2019), with respect to the presumption in favor o…
21-6049 Aaron Christopher Pena v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-10-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law drug-offenses importation knowledge-standard mens-rea methamphetamine offense-level-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation strict-liability Whether an offense level enhancement under the Sentencing Guidelines that applies when "the offense involved the importation of amphetamine or methamp…
21-6034 Clifton James Jackson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-10-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-conduct criminal-procedure discovery-violations federal-jurisdiction government-agencies indictment-defect mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states speedy-trial-act 1. After Jackson was charged with and convicted of unlawful firearm possession, this Court overturned near-unanimous circuit authority by holding the …
21-5998 In Re Anthony Terry 2021-10-19 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act career-offender circuit-precedent circuit-split criminal-procedure elements-clause mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation In a previous holding (Borden v United States, 141 S.Ct. 1817 (2021)), this Court determined that a mens rea element of "knowing and purposeful" is re…
21-5911 Michael Herman v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-10-07 Denied IFP complete-defense compulsory-process due-process evidence-standard evidentiary-standards mens-rea right-to-present-defense sixth-amendment Can a defendant's right to present a complete defense be violated by the arbitrary and disproportionate application of a general evidentiary standard …
21-5843 Brandon Lamar Pruitt v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-10-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split constitutional-rights criminal-law due-process fifth-amendment jury-instruction mens-rea sex-trafficking statutory-interpretation 1. The federal sex trafficking statute requires that the government prove the defendant knew his/her own actions would cause the victim to engage in a…
21-5853 Noah Gaston v. Maine Maine 2021-10-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-culpability due-process fourteenth-amendment general-intent intent mens-rea murder murder-statute specific-intent 1. Does Maine's murder statute violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution because it does not require the state to prove beyon…
21-5827 Jerry Ray Craine v. United States Tenth Circuit 2021-09-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-law constitutional-rights criminal-law criminal-statute due-process firearm-possession government-prosecution mens-rea second-amendment statutory-interpretation Whether the government must prove, as an element of a prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), that defendant knew his constitutionally protected cond…
21-5615 Carlos Mora v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-09-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-preservation criminal-justice due-process importation mens-rea methamphetamine-importation plain-error plain-error-review sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines 1. Where counsel raised an issue in written Objections to the Addendum to the Presentence Report filed with the district court, and never withdrew or …
21-5559 Selvin Leonell Hernandez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-09-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2nd-amendment commerce-clause criminal-procedure criminal-statute evidence evidentiary-standard federal-law firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea Whether possession of a firearm is "in or affecting commerce" when there is no evidence that the defendant moved the firearm across state lines or tha…
21-5503 Eric Henry Woodberry and Bradford Marselas Johnson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-08-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-statute firearm-length firearms mandatory-minimum mandatory-minimums mens-rea prosecutorial-burden sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(B)(i) requires the government to prove that a defendant knew of the length of the firearm carried during the commission …
21-5484 Sylvia Diaz v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-08-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy criminal-law due-process equal-protection firearms licensed-dealer mens-rea selective-prosecution straw-purchase Petitioner plead guilty to one count of conspiring to commit straw purchases of firearms (as proscribed by 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6)) in violation of 18 U…
21-5432 Deangelo Lenard Johnson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-08-20 Denied IFP criminal-law criminal-statute domestic-violence firearm-possession firearms knowledge-of-status mens-rea misdemeanor-conviction rehaif-standard rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation Whether, to support Rehaif's knowledge-of-status element in a prosecution for unlawful possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a misdemeanor …
21-192 Gregory S. Simpson v. United States Armed Forces 2021-08-11 Denied Response Waived aiding-and-abetting contraband criminal-liability due-process guilty-plea mens-rea statutory-construction 1. Is it a constitutional due process violation for Petitioner's guilty plea to distribution of indecent images to be accepted based on a theory that …
21-176 David J. Tatara v. Mark S. Inch, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2021-08-06 Denied Response Waived criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process felony-murder habeas-corpus judgment-of-acquittal mens-rea superseding-information 1. Does a conviction of a crime submitted to the jury through a superseding information filed after jeopardy attached and after the court granted judg…
21-171 Joel Zupnik v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-08-05 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) ' 'entice ' 'induce ' or 'coerce' in 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) require more circuit-split criminal-law due-process federal-jurisdiction federal-state-balance federalism interstate-commerce mens-rea minor-protection sentencing sexual-offense statutory-interpretation Title 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) prohibits using a facility or means of interstate commerce to "persuad[e], induc[e], entic[e], or coerc[e]" a minor to engag…
21-5261 Shakeel Kahn v. United States Tenth Circuit 2021-07-29 Judgment Issued Relisted (2)IFP controlled-substances-act disjunctive-conjunctive good-faith-defense legitimate-medical-purpose mens-rea usual-course-professional-practice 1. Where the government prosecutes a medical practitioner under the Controlled Substances Act for issuing a prescription outside "the usual course of …
21-82 Alpine Securities Corporation v. Securities and Exchange Commission Second Circuit 2021-07-21 Denied Amici (2) administrative-law agency-authority bank-secrecy-act enforcement-authority mens-rea sec-enforcement securities-and-exchange-commission securities-exchange-act statutory-interpretation treasury-department In enacting and amending the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Congress vested the Secretary of the Treasury with the authority to administer, interpret, and en…
21-5105 Cedric Antonio Wright v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-07-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP bodily-harm carjacking criminal-intent criminal-law driver-cooperation intent intent-interpretation mens-rea statutory-interpretation supreme-court-precedent Whether this Court correctly ruled in Holloway v. United States, 526 U.S. 1 (1999) that during a carjacking, a person's intent to seriously harm or ki…
21-5077 Herbert Jonathan Castillo Juarez and Paola Valenzuela Arevalo v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-07-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-crimes drug-type knowledge-requirement mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation ussg-2d1.1 Whether the government is required to prove a defendant's mens rea and knowledge with respect to the requisite drug type for penalties under Title 21 …
21-5060 Kevin Brown v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-07-09 Denied Relisted (2)IFP 18-usc-921 18-usc-922 circuit-split criminal-statute domestic-violence firearm-possession mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation united-states-v-hayes Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) , a person may not possess a gun if he has been convicted of a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence." A "misdemeanor cr…
21-5016 Salvador Acosta v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-07-06 Denied IFP appellate-review criminal-knowledge criminal-law drug-statutes evidence harmless-error mens-rea sentencing sentencing-enhancement testimony 1. Whether a federal court of appeals can reject a defendant's testimony denying the requisite criminal knowledge as implausible in determining that a…
21-5017 Angel Mondragon Garcia v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-07-06 GVR IFP aggravated-felony borden-decision certiorari crime-of-violence criminal-law immigration mens-rea sentencing statutory-enhancement statutory-interpretation supreme-court Whether the Court should grant certiorari, vacate the judgment below and remand for further consideration in light of this Court's recent decision in …
20-8238 Martavis Hollis Samuel v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-06-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP acca controlled-substance-offense criminal-law elonis florida-drug-statute mcfadden mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Is a post-2002 conviction for sale of marijuana or cocaine or for possession of cocaine with intent to sell in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13 a "con…
20-8184 Ronald Centeno v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-06-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924c 5th-amendment 6th-amendment constructive-amendment mens-rea specific-intent I. Whether it is a violation of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to submit aiding and abetting to the jury when aiding and abetting is not charged in th…
20-1635 Michael Anthony Casillas v. Minnesota Minnesota 2021-05-24 Denied civil-rights criminal-law criminal-statute due-process first-amendment free-speech mens-rea nonconsensual-dissemination obscenity protected-speech strict-scrutiny Does the First Amendment allow a state to criminalize protected speech by means of a statute aimed at prohibiting the nonconsensual dissemination of s…
20-8084 Gregory Brown v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-05-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law federal-courts federal-procedure mens-rea sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether 28 U.S.C. § 994(h)(2)(B) and the definition of a "controlled substance offense" in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(b) require that a defendant's prior offens…
20-8071 Delson Marc v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-05-19 Denied IFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process felon-in-possession firearms mens-rea rehaif-standard statutory-interpretation In Rehaif v. United States, 139 S.Ct. 2191, 2194 (2019), this Court held that 18 U.S.C. Sections 922(g) and 924(a)(2) require that the government prov…
20-8077 Kavoris Clayton v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-05-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law drug-offense mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the drug conduct in the "controlled substance offense" definition in U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 4B1.2(b) requires knowledge of the illicit na…
20-8047 Cornelius R. Caple v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-05-17 Denied IFP acca assault career-offender controlled-substance criminal-law elements-clause mens-rea sentencing-guidelines I. Whether the drug conduct in the "controlled substance offense" definition in U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 4B1.2(b) requires knowledge of the illicit…
20-7958 Anderson Jean v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-05-07 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP aggravated-felon aggravated-felony criminal-statute mens-rea scienter sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation In the wake of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), and Rehaif v. United States, 139 S.Ct. 2191 (2019), jurists continue to disagree…
20-7909 Juan Pablo Price v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-05-04 Denied IFP criminal-law due-process knowledge-requirement mens-rea ninth-circuit sexual-assault sexual-contact statutory-construction statutory-interpretation supreme-court Whether the knowledge requirement in 18 U.S.C. § 2244(b) applies to all elements of the offense, such that the government must prove both that the def…
20-7855 James Ayers v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-04-27 GVR IFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law criminal-statute mens-rea recklessness sentencing statutory-interpretation use-of-force Question not identified.
20-7849 Ismael Lopez v. United States, et al. Second Circuit 2021-04-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 8th-amendment accomplice-liability constitutional-review criminal-procedure due-process factor-based-analysis mandatory-sentencing mens-rea nexus proportionality-test sentencing Whether mandatory sentences, as a whole or in part, are constitutional and should be replaced with factor-based analysis under §3553, in conjunction w…
20-7800 Jacqueline Moore v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-04-19 Denied IFP appellate-review criminal-procedure fairness-standard federal-criminal-law indictment mens-rea plain-error-review rehaif-v-united-states supreme-court-decision trial-record I. When applying plain error review based on an intervening United States Supreme Court decision, may an appellate court consider information outside …
20-7790 Rolando Villarreal v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-04-16 GVR IFP assault-statute criminal-law force-against-person mens-rea reckless-mental-state sentencing statutory-interpretation use-of-force violent-felony I. Whether a statute has as an element the use of force against the person of another when a conviction under that statute can be based on a reckless …
20-7746 Miguel Angel Mendoza v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-04-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law drug-trafficking due-process fair-trial mens-rea sentencing 1. Whether 21 U.S.C. § 960, which carries a ten-year mandatory-minimum sentence for "knowingly" importing a controlled substance if that substance is …
20-7765 Jared Andrew Martin v. California California 2021-04-14 Denied IFP civil-procedure constitutional-vagueness criminal-procedure criminal-statute culpability due-process evidence jury mens-rea standing statutory-interpretation Question not identified.
20-7678 Roshawn Deon Joiner, aka Shon Joiner v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-04-08 GVR IFP 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) encompass crimes with armed-career-criminal-act commerce-clause criminal-statute fifth-circuit mens-rea recklessness statutory-interpretation supreme-court use-of-force-clause Does the "use of force" clause in the Armed Career Criminal Act (the "ACCA"), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) encompass crimes with a mens rea of mere rec…
20-7680 Jonathan Beasley v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-04-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-statute federal-prosecution felon-in-possession firearm-possession mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation Whether, in a federal prosecution for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1) that occurred after the dec…
20-7604 Christopher Johnson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-03-31 Denied IFP appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process guilty-plea indictment mens-rea plain-error rehaif I. When an indictment fails to allege an essential mens rea element, may the appellate court assume the indictment still alleges a federal offense and…
20-7609 Raynal King and Howard R. Ross, III v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-03-31 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 18-usc-924c3a criminal-law criminal-statute elements-clause force-clause mens-rea physical-force statutory-interpretation use-of-force Whether a crime that requires a resulting death categorically includes, as an element, "the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force ag…
20-7447 Elijah Hasan Jones v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-15 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law criminal-statute mens-rea recklessness sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation use-of-force use-of-force-clause Whether the "use of force" clause in the Armed Career Criminal Act (the "ACCA"), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) encompass crimes with a mens rea of reckl…
20-7341 James Coddington v. Jim Farris, Warden Tenth Circuit 2021-03-05 Denied Amici (1)IFP capital-punishment criminal-procedure due-process habeas-corpus harmless-error material-evidence mens-rea right-to-defense right-to-present-defense sixth-amendment On direct appeal, the state court found that constitutional error marred the trial, which ended with a death sentence for petitioner. The error—barrin…
20-7348 Anthony Ray Ybarra v. United States Tenth Circuit 2021-03-05 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split force-clause mens-rea physical-force violent-felony New Mexico courts have held the state's aggravated assault statute does not have a mens rea element with respect to the victim. Does a criminal offens…
20-7314 Willard Lee Moss, Jr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-03-03 Denied Relisted (2)IFP criminal-conviction criminal-law domestic-violence due-process firearm-possession firearms fourth-circuit legal-error mens-rea rehaif rehaif-error Whether the Fourth Circuit erred when it affirmed Moss's conviction for possession of a firearm by a domestic violence offender, where the evidence in…
20-7315 Ursula Owens v. Ohio Ohio 2021-03-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-violation criminal-law due-process felony-murder jury-determination mens-rea merger-doctrine reckless-homicide strict-liability Under the common law felony-murder rule, if a person kills another while committing or attempting to commit a felony, the killing is murder. The rule …
20-7284 Tyrell Donte Curry v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-01 Denied Amici (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach controlled-substance criminal-procedure mens-rea serious-drug-offense statutory-interpretation Whether the drug conduct in the Armed Career Criminal Act's "serious drug offense" definition in 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(A)(ii) requires knowledge of th…
20-7285 Cedric Durand Collins v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-01 Denied IFP controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-law drug-offense due-process knowledge-requirement mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the drug conduct in the "controlled substance offense" definition in U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 4B1.2(b) requires knowledge of the illicit na…
20-7286 Kashus Davis v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-01 Denied IFP 18-usc-924 armed-career-criminal-act controlled-substance criminal-law criminal-procedure mens-rea serious-drug-offense statutory-interpretation Whether the drug conduct in the Armed Career Criminal Act's "serious drug offense" definition in 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(A)(ii) requires knowledge of th…
20-7287 Viguens Cius v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-03-01 Denied IFP controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-law drug-offense due-process knowledge-requirement mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether the drug conduct in the "controlled substance offense" definition in U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 4B1.2(b) requires knowledge of the illicit na…
20-7253 Nancy Cole v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-02-25 Denied IFP constitutional-limits criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-statutes due-process fifth-amendment mandatory-minimum mens-rea sentencing statutory-interpretation strict-liability 1. Whether the knowingly mens rea in the federal drug statutes, 21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 960, applies to the elements of drug type and quantity that establis…
20-7235 Michael Alvarez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-02-24 Denied Relisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-sentencing due-process federal-criminal-law intent-standard mens-rea predicate-offense sentencing statutory-interpretation The circuit courts agree that a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) will be sustained even if the defendant was not aware that his conduct would be p…
20-7217 Felix Cisneros, Jr. v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-02-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split conspiracy conspiracy-liability criminal-intent criminal-law due-process mens-rea sentencing statutory-elements statutory-interpretation waiver-doctrine 1. Can a person be convicted of conspiracy to violate a statute containing an element increasing the offense's severity, where that element is not act…
20-7167 Elin Robinson Mejia Romero v. United States First Circuit 2021-02-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-intent criminal-law drug-distribution due-process mens-rea sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether, under 21 U.S.C. § 841, a defendant who knowingly possesses or distributes a controlled substance can be convicted and subjected to an enhance…
20-7140 Cesar Raul Aceves v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-02-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-procedure immigration immigration-law mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states status-elements statutory-interpretation united-states-v-rehaif unlawful-reentry 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) prohibits individuals falling into particular status categories from possessing firearms or ammunition. Rehaif v. United States, 58…
20-7145 Rasheik Amond Harris v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-02-12 Denied IFP appellate-review criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process felon-in-possession firearm-offense jury-instructions mens-rea plain-error Whether a defendant who was found guilty after a jury trial to possessing a firearm as a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g), is automatically ent…
20-7146 Frank Ray Gallardo v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-02-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-conflict circuit-split criminal-law criminal-statute due-process federal-criminal-law jury-instruction jury-instructions mens-rea specific-intent statutory-interpretation Whether a defendant charged with an offense under 18 USC § 2244 is entitled to a specific intent instruction and there is a conflict among Circuits.
20-7122 Adam Lloyd Cooper v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-02-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-and-abetting criminal-law criminal-statute drug-trafficking firearm-possession firearms intent mens-rea rosemond-v-united-states Whether Sec. 924(c) contains a specific mens rea requirement that requires one to know more than that firearms are "tools of the trade" for drug traff…
20-7101 Anthony Jerome Billings, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-02-10 Denied IFP appellate-review circuit-split controlled-substance-offense crime-of-violence Eleventh-Circuit florida-statute mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation I. Is a conviction for sale of cocaine in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13 a "controlled substance offense" as defined in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(b) if, acco…
20-7109 Raul Flores-Villalvaso v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-02-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-history criminal-procedure due-process illegal-reentry mens-rea sentencing sentencing-guidelines specific-intent Whether the 8 U.S.C. § 1326 Attempted Illegal Reentry mens rea element of "specific intent" can be restated as simply "a conscious desire" with no ref…
20-7038 David Paul Martinez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-02-05 Denied IFP 18-usc-921-a-33 criminal-law criminal-statute domestic-violence firearms firearms-possession mens-rea misdemeanor-domestic-violence plain-error-review rehaif-v-united-states supreme-court-precedent 1. Whether Mr. Martinez's convictions for violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), possession of a firearm after a conviction for a "misdemeanor crime of dome…
20-7019 Kourtney Williams v. United States First Circuit 2021-02-03 Denied Relisted (2)IFP appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process grand-jury jury-finding mens-rea petit-jury plain-error Does Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b) grant an appellate court discretion to independently find an essential element of an offense for which the defendant was n…
20-6975 Cortez Maurice Crumble v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-01-28 Denied Relisted (2)IFP circuit-court-conflict criminal-law criminal-procedure mens-rea outside-trial-record plain-error-review rehaif-v-united-states substantial-rights trial-error When evaluating Rehaif-derived trial errors under Rule 52(b) plain-error review, should prejudice under the "substantial rights" prong be presumed? 2…
20-6936 Scott Tucker v. United States Second Circuit 2021-01-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process evidence jury-instructions mens-rea racketeering 1. Whether the Court of Appeals has endorsed an inflexible rule that limits evidence of legal advice rendered to the defendant to the very inception o…
20-6948 Beau Brandon Croghan v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-01-26 Denied IFP 8th-circuit child-pornography criminal-intent criminal-law eighth-circuit evidence evidence-retention knowingly-receives mens-rea statutory-interpretation website-viewing Whether the Eighth Circuit erred by holding that a defendant knowingly receives child pornography by viewing it on a website, even without any evidenc…
20-6840 Frederick D. Darrington, Jr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-01-12 Denied IFP 18-usc-924c criminal-law criminal-statute elements-clause intimidation mens-rea physical-force statutory-interpretation Whether a crime that requires proof of "intimidation" of the victim satisfies the elements clause of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A), when the offense does n…
20-6730 Jose Lupe Corrall v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-12-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-distribution due-process federal-scheduling guilty-plea knowledge-standard mens-rea plea-bargaining statutory-interpretation 1. Under McFadden v. United States, ---U.S.---, 135 S.Ct. 2298 (2015), when a defendant pleads guilty to "knowingly" distributing a controlled substan…
20-6710 Marlon Iron Crow v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-12-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-1 criminal-law criminal-statute jury-instruction jury-instructions malice-aforethought mens-rea second-degree-murder statutory-interpretation Whether the "reckless" mens rea should be included in the jury instruction for "malice aforethought" for second degree murder under 18 U.S.C. § 1.
20-6690 Randolph Burleson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-12-22 Denied Relisted (2)IFP constitutional-rights criminal-indictment criminal-law federal-jurisdiction fifth-amendment indictment jurisdiction mens-rea sixth-amendment 1. Circuit courts are split on whether federal courts have jurisdiction over a criminal matter when the charging document omits an essential mens rea …
20-6583 Edgar Espinoza v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-12-09 Denied Relisted (2)IFP constitutional-defect criminal-indictment criminal-procedure federal-jurisdiction fifth-amendment guilty-plea indictment jurisdiction mens-rea sixth-amendment 1. Circuit courts are split on whether federal courts have jurisdiction over a criminal matter when the charging document omits an essential mens rea …
20-6569 Quincey Frye v. United States Second Circuit 2020-12-08 Denied Relisted (2)IFP appellate-review felon-in-possession judicial-proceedings jury-instructions mens-rea plain-error rehaif-v-united-states second-circuit trial-record Should the Court of Appeals have looked beyond the trial record to Frye's presentence investigation report to decide that there was no plain error tha…
20-6481 Luis Francisco Murillo Morfin v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-12-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP coercion conspiracy criminal-conspiracy criminal-law deliberate-ignorance due-process intent-requirement knowledge-standard mens-rea The questions presented are whether, in a criminal case, the government may rely on a deliberate ignorance theory of the knowledge mens rea: (1) to e…
20-6426 Jose Farias-Valdovinos v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-11-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-waiver criminal-procedure factual-basis mens-rea plea-bargaining plea-colloquy rule-11 specific-intent specific-intent-crime Whether the district court's omission of an independent inquiry into a defendant's mens rea during the Rule 11 plea colloquy for a specific intent cri…
20-6405 Joshua Cato v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-11-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-distribution due-process federal-scheduling guilty-plea knowledge-standard mens-rea plea-bargaining statutory-interpretation 1. Under McFadden v. United States, --U.S.---, 135 S.Ct. 2298 (2015), when a defendant pleads guilty to "knowingly" distributing a controlled substanc…
20-6399 Duwayne Jones v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-11-20 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP career-offender controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense eleventh-circuit fifth-circuit florida-statute-§-893.13 mens-rea second-circuit sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation u.s.s.g.-§-4b1.2(b) Is a post-2002 conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver or sell, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13, a "controlled substance offen…
20-6347 Christopher Mikelinich v. United States Second Circuit 2020-11-17 Denied Relisted (2)IFP criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process felony-possession knowing-plea mens-rea plain-error plea-agreement plea-bargaining rehaif-v-united-states sentencing-elements Where a defendant claims his plea was not knowing and intelligent because he was unaware of all the elements of the offense, does it matter whether he…
20-6269 Gilbert Montrez Gardner v. Maryland Maryland 2020-11-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP case-review certiorari court-of-appeals felony-murder legal-remand mens-rea robbery rosemond-precedent rosemond-v-united-states sufficiency-of-evidence supreme-court-review THIS COURT SHOULD GRANT CERTIORARI VACATE THE DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND AND REMAND TO THAT COURT IN LIGHT OF THIS COURT'S DECISION …
20-6291 Christopher Stacy v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-11-12 Denied Relisted (2)IFP criminal-law criminal-procedure felon-in-possession firearm-statute guilty-plea mens-rea plain-error plea-bargaining sentencing sentencing-guidelines Whether a defendant who pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a), is automatically entitle…
20-6197 Gregory C. Raymore v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-11-03 Denied Relisted (2)IFP criminal-law due-process firearms indictment jury-instructions mens-rea A. Whether Petitioner's conviction must be vacated because (1) the indictment failed to alleg e an essential element of the offense–that Petitioner kn…
20-555 Kyle Stephen Thompson v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-10-27 Denied Response Waived circuit-split criminal-intent criminal-law federal-statute mens-rea minor-protection minors purpose-element sexual-exploitation statutory-interpretation visual-depiction Whether the "for the purpose of" element of § 2251(a) means the defendant's prevailing or most influential purpose for the sexually explicit conduct w…
20-6130 Desmond Howard Greer v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-10-26 GVR Relisted (2)IFP criminal-law criminal-offense elements-of-crime force legal-interpretation mens-rea personal-injury reckless-injury recklessness sentencing use-of-force violent-crime Whether an offense has as an element the use of force against the person of another if it may be committed by recklessly inflicting injury?
20-6122 Jerome Capelton v. United States First Circuit 2020-10-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-abetting aiding-and-abetting categorical-approach circuit-split criminal-law criminal-liability first-circuit joint-venture mens-rea realistic-probability sentencing 1. Whether the First Circuit's application of the "realistic probability" standard in Mr. Capelton's case, where the elements of Massachusetts "joint …
20-6109 Rashawn D. Watson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-10-22 Denied Relisted (3)IFP criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process firearm-possession guilty-plea indictment indictment-sufficiency knowledge-element mens-rea plea-bargaining rehaif-decision rehaif-v-united-states A. Whether the decision in Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019) requires that Petitioner's guilty plea and conviction be vacated when (1) t…
20-6027 Michael Moore v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-10-15 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP appellate-review controlled-substances criminal-law federal-sentencing gvr mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation 1. Petitioner questions wehether even if §924(e)(2)(A)(ii) does not call for a generic-offense-matching analysis, does it require knowledge of the sub…
20-5949 Timmy Scott v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-10-08 Denied Relisted (4)IFP criminal-indictment criminal-law felon-in-possession firearms-possession indictment jury-instructions mens-rea prohibited-status rehaif rehaif-challenge 1) Whether Rehaif's mens rea requirement is limited to whether or not the defendant knew he was a convicted felon alone, or whether it requires him to…
20-444 United States v. Michael Andrew Gary Fourth Circuit 2020-10-07 Judgment Issued Amici (5) criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process felon-in-possession firearm-possession mens-rea plain-error plain-error-rule plea-bargaining plea-colloquy substantial-rights Whether a defendant who pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and 924(a), is automatically entitled t…
20-5891 Mauricio Alvarez v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-10-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP 5th-amendment criminal-law due-process fifth-amendment mens-rea negligence seaman's-manslaughter-statute statutory-interpretation statutory-vagueness subjective-interpretation void-for-vagueness Whether the Seaman's Manslaughter Statute, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1115, which uses the terms "misconduct, negligence and inattention to his duties" does not p…
20-5854 Trumaine Muller v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-09-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense drug-offenses intervening-act jury-instruction jury-instructions mens-rea plain-error proximate-cause I. THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED PLAIN ERROR IN FAILING TO INSTRUCT THE JURY THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD TO PROVE MENS REA AS TO EACH DRUG OFFENSE AND THE RES…
20-5833 Scott Francis Fortier v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-09-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-2251 child-pornography commerce-clause constitutional-vagueness mens-rea sexual-conduct sexually-explicit-conduct specific-intent vagueness-doctrine 1a. Does creating a visual depiction of sexual conduct of a minor need to be the dominan t or specific purpose; one of the dominant or specific purpo…
20-5774 Archie Manzanares v. United States Tenth Circuit 2020-09-23 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach mens-rea new-mexico-aggravated-assault new-mexico-robbery tenth-circuit violent-felony 1. The "categorical approach" determines whether a prior conviction qualifies as a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). The rele…
20-5733 Clinton Lee Rumley v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-09-18 Denied IFP almendarez-torres armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split fourth-circuit-split mens-rea omission-liability recklessness sentencing-enhancement violent-felony (1) Whether a criminal statute that prohibits the intentional causation of bodily injury to another "by any means," including omissions, is categorica…
20-5670 Henry Horace Givins v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-09-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender-enhancement circuit-split controlled-substance-offense criminal-law eleventh-circuit mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Is a post-2002 conviction for sale of cocaine or possession with intent to sell cocaine, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13, a "controlled substance …
20-5640 Michael Wayne Northcutt v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-09-10 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP circuit-split criminal-law due-process intentional-conduct mens-rea predicate-offense sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Where the circuit courts agree that a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) will be sustained even if the defendant was not aware that his conduct woul…
20-5635 Daniel Thomason Smith v. Warden, FCI Beaumont Fifth Circuit 2020-09-09 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP allocution brady-violation conflict-of-interest due-process exculpatory-evidence false-witness identity-theft judicial-misconduct medicare-fraud mens-rea savings-clause 1. Is it appropriate to convict me, Daniel Thomason Smith, when I was NEVER allowed to testify for what I had knowledge of and/or did not have knowl…
20-5584 David Matthews v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-09-03 GVR Relisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act borden-v-united-states criminal-offense mens-rea recklessness statutory-interpretation violent-felony I. Whether a criminal offense that can be committed with a mens rea of recklessness can qualify as a "violent felony" under the Armed Career Criminal …
20-5558 Anthony Smith v. United States Second Circuit 2020-09-02 Denied Relisted (3)IFP criminal-law criminal-statute due-process firearm-possession firearms jury-instruction jury-instructions knowledge-element mens-rea plain-error prohibited-possession 1. Whether the district court committed plain error in failing to instruct the jury that the evidence must establish both that appellant Anthony Smith…
20-5578 Steven Gerard Walker v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-09-02 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-procedure federal-state-courts felon-in-possession mens-rea preponderance-of-evidence sentencing sentencing-enhancement violent-felony 1) Whether a sentencing judge can find facts in the first instance about whether a defendant committed offenses on different occasions by a prepondera…
20-5481 Fredrick Brown v. United States Third Circuit 2020-08-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP cross-examination federal-rules-of-evidence fifth-amendment mens-rea prior-acts sixth-amendment victim-witness-evidence Were the Petitioner's rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution infringed, where pursuant to F.R.E. 412, the Trial…
20-5409 Johnathan Scott Keen v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-08-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender constitutional-law criminal-law drug-offenses due-process felony-enhancement mens-rea sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Whether, as preserved, the District Court erred as a matter of (Constitutional) Law in finding Mr. Keen's prior Florida drug convictions qualified as …
20-5337 David Enrique Meza v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-08-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure investigatory-proceeding marinello-v-united-states mens-rea miranda-rights miranda-waiver obstruction obstruction-of-justice 1. In Marinello v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 1101, 1109-10 (2018), the Court held that, to prove obstruction, the government must show that the defend…
20-137 Prescott McCurdy v. Maine Maine 2020-08-07 Denied Response Waived civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process judicial-misconduct mens-rea personal-liberty seizure state-statute takings unfair-trial 1) Has the 'peoples' right to 'personal liberty' been suspended? Whereas the State; through statutes; is criminalizing 'personal liberty ' while aut…
20-5269 Amadeo Valls v. Florida Florida 2020-08-05 Denied IFP acquittal burglary criminal-procedure due-process jury-instructions mens-rea structural-error (1) WHETHER Due process prohibits Florida from excluding Hews rea .instruction from Burglary CHARGES or WHETHER IT IS STRUCTURAL ERROR For Trial court…
20-5278 Melvin Whitehead v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-08-05 Denied IFP crime-of-violence federal-court federal-recidivism-enhancement federal-sentencing-guidelines intentional-conduct mens-rea negligence negligence-standard recidivism-enhancement state-offense 1) Where the definition of a crime of violence under federal recidivism enhancement provisions, such as U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(1), include the limiting l…
20-5252 Garry Grace v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-08-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-922 18-usc-924 criminal-conviction criminal-law due-process firearm-offense knowingly-element mens-rea rehaif-standard rehaif-v-united-states status-elements statutory-interpretation Whether Mr. Grace was illegally charged with, and unknowingly convicted of, a crime that was not an offense against the United States, in light of the…
20-5185 Joshua Jermaine Nelson v. Texas Texas 2020-07-27 Denied IFP constitutional-vagueness content-based-restriction due-process first-amendment free-speech mens-rea overbreadth overbreadth-doctrine vagueness 1. Is a statute unconsti tutional, on its face, when it is a content-based restri ction that severel y criminalizes a substanti al amount of harml ess…
20-5163 Lonnie Kade Welsh v. Texas Texas 2020-07-24 Denied IFP actual-innocence civil-commitment criminal-procedure due-process fourteenth-amendment insanity-defense mens-rea mental-capacity 1. Would the State of Texas cause a fundamental miscarriage of justice violating the United States Fourteenth Amendment by refusing to overturn the cr…
20-5164 Lonnie Kade Welsh v. Texas Texas 2020-07-24 Denied IFP civil-commitment criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process fourteenth-amendment insanity-defense mens-rea mental-capacity 1. Would the State of Texas cause a fundamental miscarriage of justice violating the United States Fourteenth Amendment by refusing to overturn the cr…
20-5165 Lonnie Kade Welsh v. Texas Texas 2020-07-24 Denied IFP civil-commitment criminal-conviction criminal-procedure due-process fourteenth-amendment insanity-defense mens-rea mental-capacity sanity 1. Would the State of Texas cause a fundamental miscarriage of justice violating the United States Fourteenth Amendment by refusing to overturn the cr…
20-5170 William Russell Williams v. Michigan Michigan 2020-07-24 Denied IFP actus-reus criminal-procedure due-process ineffective-assistance jury-instructions mens-rea mitigation mitigation-instruction prosecutorial-misconduct right-to-present-defense sentencing-guidelines I. Was William Williams denied his right to due process, to present a defense, and to a properly instructed jury where the trial court refused to prov…
20-5120 Giovanni Cotto, aka Monte v. United States Second Circuit 2020-07-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof circuit-split criminal-procedure criminal-prosecution federal-statute mens-rea official-proceeding statutory-interpretation witness-retaliation Whether, in a prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1513(b)(1), the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knew the witness agains…
20-5075 Jorge Hiram Baez-Martinez v. United States First Circuit 2020-07-15 Denied Relisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach circuit-split depraved-heart force-clause mens-rea recklessness violent-felony Whether crimes that may be committed recklessly with a depraved heart mens rea — as opposed to willfully or intentionally — can qualify as a "violent …
20-5079 Charles Monroe Finchum v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-07-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-statute due-process federal-law felon-in-possession firearms-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g ) authoriz es conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there i…
20-5080 Christopher George Wiggin v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-07-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP with no evidence of defendants' conduct causing s criminal-law criminal-procedure criminal-statute due-process federal-law felon-in-possession firearms-possession interstate-commerce mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g ) authoriz es conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there i…
20-5081 Clarence Hoffert v. United States Third Circuit 2020-07-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-1521 criminal-intent criminal-statute due-process false-lien federal-false-lien-statute intent-standard mens-rea statutory-interpretation vagueness vagueness-doctrine The question presented is whether the interpretation of the federal false lien statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1521, adopted by the court of appeals in this case…
20-5002 Gilberto Ayun-Flores v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-07-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law due-process evidence evidence-law general-intent intent-element mens-rea mental-disease mental-health Whether a defendant charged with a general intent offense may present evidence of mental disease to challenge the government's proof of the mens rea e…
20-5008 Emilio Garza v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-07-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof criminal-law due-process federal-statute firearm-possession interstate-commerce mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g ) authoriz es conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there i…
19-8929 Tedarel Leshun Preston v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-07-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law criminal-offense elements-clause mens-rea reckless-mens-rea statutory-interpretation violent-felony I. Whether a criminal offense with a reckless mens rea qualifies as a "violent felony" under the elements clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 …
19-8710 William Frazier v. United States Sixth Circuit 2020-06-15 Denied IFP 18-usc-924c circuit-split crime-of-violence criminal-law criminal-statute federal-criminal-law mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether the Sixth Circuit is correct that—contrary to every other circuit's application of the plain statutory language—the VICAR statute, 18 U.S.C…
19-8662 Jason Paris Scott v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-06-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process federal-firearms-law firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g ) authoriz es conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there i…
19-8612 Edward Ronald Stamper v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-06-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP consent criminal-intent criminal-law due-process indian-reservation ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-instruction jury-instructions mens-rea sexual-abuse sexual-assault The government convicted Edward Ronald Stamper of sexual abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2242(2)(B) based on a jury instruction which provided: In …
19-1313 Donovan Dave Dixon v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-05-22 Denied Response Waived controlled-substances controlled-substances-act criminal-liability drug-trafficking gonzalez-v-oregon medical-malpractice medical-practice mens-rea standard-of-care Whether juries must be instructed that the government must prove that a physician acted with the mens rea of intent as to issuing a prescription outsi…
19-1303 Earnest Cassell Woods, II v. California California 2020-05-20 Denied criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process mens-rea murder-conviction natural-probable-consequences resentencing retroactive retroactivity self-defense senate-bill-1437 sentencing statutory-interpretation 1. DOES SENATE BILL 1437 ADDED SECTION 1170.95, WHICH PERMITS PERSONS CONVICTED OF MURDER UNDER THE NATURAL AND PROBABLE CONSEQUENCES THEORY TO PETITI…
19-8340 Christopher Scruggs v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-04-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law distribution distribution-intent file-sharing knowledge knowledge-standard mens-rea sentencing sentencing-guidelines The Sentencing Commission promulgated Amendment 801, amending to only apply when a defendant 2G2.2(b) (3) (F) enhancement "knowingly engaged in distri…
19-8304 Timothy J. McVay v. Illinois Illinois 2020-04-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP actus-reus burden-of-proof civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process first-degree-murder mens-rea presumption-of-innocence Whether a bench trial conviction of first degree murder by H.U.M Matrix(Homicide by Unspecified Means) can be upheld without benefit of: an eyewitness…
19-8274 Tracy Anthony Scott v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-04-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process guilty-plea mens-rea plea-bargaining rehaif-v-united-states sixth-amendment Does the Constitution require that the accused know the elements of a crime in order to validly plead guilty? Is Florida § 893.13 categorically a qu…
19-8237 Fernando Romero-Salgado v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-04-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-procedure fifth-amendment jury-instruction jury-instructions mens-rea plain-error plain-error-review sixth-amendment substantial-rights Does Rehaif error per se affect a defendant's substantial rights under the third prong of plain-error review?
19-8071 Curtis Dion Earley v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-03-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-law constitutional-violation criminal-law due-process mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation stolen-firearm Does the commentary at U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1, Application Note 8, which does not require a mens rea to impose the stolen firearm enhancement at U.S.S.G. § …
19-8051 Jack Benjamin Hessiani v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-03-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process fifth-amendment grand-jury indictment indictment-defect jurisdictional-challenge mens-rea sixth-amendment 1. The Circuits are divided over whether federal courts have jurisdiction over a criminal matter when the charging document omits an essential element…
19-1102 Dontae Small v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-03-09 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived abandonment-exception carjacking-statute cell-phone cell-phone-privacy cell-phones digital-contents digital-privacy digital-search fourth-amendment fourth-amendment-warrant-requirement mens-rea riley-v-california search-incident-to-arrest 1. In Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014), this Court held that the "search incident to arrest" exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requi…
19-7896 Nicholas Hughes v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-03-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP child-pornography circuit-split criminal-law due-process federal-statute mens-rea sexual-abuse sexual-exploitation statutory-interpretation Title 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) requires the government to prove that the defendant engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a minor "for the purpose of" p…
19-1087 Charles M. Hallinan v. United States Third Circuit 2020-03-05 Denied Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) civil-procedure criminal-intent fifth-circuit mens-rea rico rico-act-1962-c rico-statute scienter second-circuit second-fifth-eleventh-circuits third-circuit unlawful-debt wire-fraud 1. Whether a person violates 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) by simply knowing an enterprise is collecting a debt that is separately determined to be unlawful, as…
19-1084 Dayton Michael Cramer v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-03-04 Denied 18-usc-2422 child-exploitation circuit-split criminal-law due-process intent-element intermediary-communication mens-rea minor-protection sexual-offense statutory-interpretation Whether - pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) - communications with an adult intermediary to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce a minor are punishable on…
19-7873 Derrick Michael Allen, Sr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-03-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof case-dismissal civil-procedure civil-rights court-procedure criminal-procedure due-process firearms judicial-review jurisdiction legal-error mens-rea standing statutory-interpretation supreme-court-jurisdiction Mr. Alexis appeal asked Justices Gorsuch and Kagan to overturn Defendant's knowledge of his two prior felony convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Aff…
19-7737 Charles Wolfe v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-02-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP advice-of-counsel compliance-officer controlled-substance-analogue controlled-substance-analogue-act controlled-substance-analogue-enforcement-act criminal-defense fair-notice federal-evidence federal-rules-of-evidence federal-rules-of-evidence-403 industry-expert mens-rea statutory-interpretation vagueness When the "advice of counsel" is an industry expert on the CSA and the Analogue Act, and was the petitioner's compliance officer, how can that defense …
19-7718 Denny Reyes v. United States Second Circuit 2020-02-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-2a 8-usc-1324a aiding-and-abetting criminal-intent immigration-law mens-rea recklessness rosemond-v-united-states statutory-interpretation Whether the intent element of 18 U.S.C. § 2(a) can, consistent with this Court's decision in Rosemond v. United States, 572 U.S. 65 (2014), be satisfi…
19-7553 Gerald Humbert v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-02-05 Denied IFP 11th-circuit acca armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law federal-criminal-jurisdiction federal-jurisdiction felon-in-possession mens-rea rehaif sentencing serious-drug-offense statutory-interpretation summary-remand 1. Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit should have granted COA as to whether Petitioner's Fla. Stat. § 893.13 drug off…
19-7504 Verdell Marcel Brooks v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-01-31 Denied IFP 18-usc-924 armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law criminal-offense mens-rea recklessness statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether a criminal offense that can be committed with a mens rea of recklessness can qualify as a "violent felony" under the Armed Career Criminal Act…
19-939 Stephen Gustus v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-01-28 Denied circuit-split criminal-law diminished-capacity due-process intent-standard mens-rea postal-service-employee statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. §111 is a specific-intent or general-intent offense.
19-7382 Tyrone Jemane Johnson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-01-23 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP aggravated-assault criminal-law federal-jurisdiction force-clause mens-rea sentencing-guidelines uniformity I. Whether a generic aggravated assault as defined in United States Sentencing Guidelines § 4B1.2 requires a mens rea greater than mere recklessness, …
19-7308 Jerry Lynn McGavitt v. Texas Texas 2020-01-17 Denied IFP 14th-amendment criminal-law criminal-mental-state due-process jury-charge jury-instructions law-of-parties mens-rea murder murder-prosecution 1.) Whether the failure to limit the definitions, in the abstract portion of the jury charge, of "Intentionally" and "Knowingly" to the nature of th…
19-7314 Johnny L. Dawson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2020-01-16 Denied IFP acca acca-predicate-offense actual-innocence armed-career-criminal-act drug-offense eleventh-circuit elonis-v-united-states florida-statute mens-rea serious-drug-offense shular strict-liability supreme-court-review united-states-v-smith 1. Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit erroneously concluded in finding Petitioner's Fla. Stat. § 893.13 drug offenses…
19-7076 Cedrick Ponder v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-12-30 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split criminal-law criminal-offense elements-clause mens-rea reckless-mens-rea statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether this Court should resolve the split of authority over whether a criminal offense with a reckless mens rea qualifies as a "violent felony" unde…
19-795 Paul D. Voorhees v. United States Armed Forces 2019-12-20 Denied conduct-unbecoming-an-officer criminal-prosecution criminal-statute due-process mens-rea military-justice negligence negligence-standard rehaif-v-united-states scienter sixth-amendment uniform-code-military-justice uniform-code-of-military-justice Does this mens rea or scienter principle apply to criminal prosecutions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, where the underlying statute at is…
19-7011 Carl Golden v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-12-19 Denied IFP constitutional-rights criminal-intent criminal-procedure due-process guilty-plea intent knowledge-of-elements mens-rea plea-bargaining rehaif-v-united-states Does the Constitution require that the accused know the elements of a crime in order to validly plead guilty? Is Florida § 893.13 categorically a ser…
19-6902 Samir Benamor v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-12-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP antique-firearm burden-of-proof criminal-intent criminal-law due-process felon-in-possession firearm-possession firearms mens-rea statutory-definition statutory-interpretation Whether, in a 922(g)(1) prosecution, the Government bears the burden of proving that the defendant knew the charged firearm has the characteristics th…
19-6885 Antonio Escobar v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-12-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offenses drug-statute due-process flores-figueroa-v-united-states fourth-amendment mens-rea statutory-interpretation traffic-stop 1. Whether, in light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), and Alleyne v. United …
19-6878 Robert L. Bolden Sr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-12-06 Denied IFP 18-usc-924(c)(3)(a) 18-usc-924c3a certificate-of-appealability crime-of-violence criminal-intent elements-clause inchoate-offense mens-rea substantial-step 1. Whether an inchoate offense, whose non-inchoate form would constitute a crime of violence under the elements clause of 18 U.S.C. §924(c)(3)(A), aut…
19-714 Pennsylvania v.William R. Landis, Jr. Pennsylvania 2019-12-05 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) blueford-v-arkansas criminal-procedure diminished-capacity double-jeopardy double-jeopardy-clause lesser-included-offense mens-rea murder murder-charges poland-v-arizona precedent retrial Did the Superior Court of Pennsylvania err in finding that the reinstatement of Murder in the Third Degree upon the award of a new trial violated the …
19-6840 Manuel Antonio Severino v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-12-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-prosecution legal-duty mens-rea statutory-interpretation tax-fraud willfulness Whether, in a prosecution for aiding and assisting in the preparation or filing of false tax returns under 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2), the government is requ…
19-6826 Jennifer Castro v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-12-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP affirmative-defenses age-of-consent criminal-law criminal-statute human-trafficking mens-rea minor minor-victims prostitution prostitution-law reasonable-belief sex-trafficking statutory-interpretation strict-liability Is 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a), which bars employing a minor to engage in prostitution, a strict liability offense requiring no proof of the defendant's knowl…
19-6774 Albert Allen, Jr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-11-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-appeal due-process fair-sentencing-act ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandatory-minimum mens-rea prosecutorial-misconduct sentencing sentencing-guidelines Whether the Court of Appeals Erred in Denying Petitioner's Application for a Certificate of Appealability to Appeal the District Court's Denial of His…
19-6784 Jermaine Whyte v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-11-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP age-of-victim criminal-law criminal-statute due-process mens-rea reasonable-opportunity sex-trafficking statutory-interpretation strict-liability Whether 18 U.S.C. § 1591(c) creates a self-standing strict liability offense with regard to the age of the victim that removes the mens rea element in…
19-6757 Jamal Bowens v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-11-26 Denied IFP criminal-law criminal-statute due-process firearm-possession firearms mens-rea reasonable-doubt rehaif-interpretation statutory-interpretation supreme-court 1. Whether the Court should grant certiorari, vacate the judgment below, and remand for reconsideration in light of Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct…
19-6722 Robin Leach, Jr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-11-25 Denied IFP 18-usc-922 constitutional-rights criminal-law firearm-possession firearms legal-status mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation (1) Did the Petitionee 1 know that finding mens-rea of knowing in a gun or fifeafm statute, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). Rehaif v. See ,e .g. United States , …
19-664 Eugene H. Williams, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-11-22 Denied Response Waived 28-usc-2255 actual-innocence coram-nobis criminal-conviction criminal-procedure destructive-devices firearms firearms-violations ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mens-rea statutory-interpretation writ-of-coram-nobis 1. Whether Petitioner is innocent of the charges resulting from a complete miscarriage of justice based upon the facts herein and is therefore qualifi…
19-6682 Zhaopeng Chen v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-11-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP circumstantial-evidence criminal-law criminal-procedure deliberate-ignorance due-process evidence farmer-v-brennan jury-instructions knowledge-element legal-standard mens-rea Whether the rule of Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994), should be extended to criminal cases, in which the defendant's knowledge of a certain fact…
19-6653 Quinton Omar Jackson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-11-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-statutes federal-criminal-law force force-and-violence intimidation legislative-intent mens-rea physical-force statutory-interpretation violence Whether Congress intended the phrase "by force and violence, or by intimidation," that appears in multiple federal criminal statutes to include the us…
19-6633 Adrian Ausberry v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-11-14 GVR Relisted (3)IFP armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split crime-of-violence force-clause mens-rea recklessness u.s.s.g.-§-4b1.2(a) u.s.s.g.-4b1.2(a) violent-felony Before this Court decided Voisine v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2272 (2016), all circuits agreed that an offense that can be committed with a mens rea …
19-6618 Delvin Deon Tinker v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-11-13 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act constitutional-provision criminal-motion elements-clause federal-statutory-provision mens-rea resisting-arrest retroactive-constitutional-decision retroactive-decision section-2255 Under what circumstances is a criminal defendant pursuing a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 entitled to relief under a retroactive constitutional decisi…
19-6569 Keyon W. Carraway v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-11-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-statute due-process firearm-possession firearms interstate-commerce mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation 1. Whether there is a reasonable probability that the court of appeals would conclud e that Rehaif v. United States , __U.S.__, 139 S.Ct. 2191 (June 2…
19-6538 Levi Jermaine Griffin v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-11-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof child-pornography criminal-indictment criminal-knowledge criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process evidence jury-instructions mens-rea possession-of-child-pornography reasonable-doubt statutory-elements WHETHER THE EVIDENCE WAS INSUFFICIENT TO SATISFY THE GOVERNMENT'S BURDEN TO PROVE THE ELEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AS TO THE POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY C…
19-6504 Franklin Roosevelt McGee v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-11-06 GVR Relisted (3)IFP 18-usc-924 armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law criminal-offense mens-rea recklessness statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether a criminal offense that can be committed with a mens rea of recklessness qualifies as a "violent felony" for purposes of the Armed Career Crim…
19-6517 Lynden Brown v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-11-06 Denied IFP 18-usc-922g 2nd-amendment bond-v-united-states commerce-clause criminal-law due-process federal-statute firearm firearm-possession interstate-commerce mens-rea nfib-v-sebelius rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation I. Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g) authorizes conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there is …
19-6496 David Elijah Smith v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-11-05 GVR IFP apprendi-v-new-jersey blakely-v-washington criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process firearm-statute haymond-v-united-states mens-rea sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-maximum (1) DID THE PETITIONER'S SENTENCE FOR 18 U.S.C. 922(g) VIOLATE THE STATUTORY MAXIMUM IN VIOLATION OF BLAKELY V. WASHINGTON, 542 U.S. 296, 304; APPREND…
19-585 Robert Leigh Stoltz v. Virginia Virginia 2019-11-04 Denied Response Waived age-of-consent criminal-intent criminal-procedure due-process jury-instructions mens-rea reasonable-belief statutory-interpretation undercover-operations Is due process violated where the judge instructs the jury such that even if the jury finds that the defendant knew the alleged victim (an undercover …
19-568 Jose Susumo Azano Matsura v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-10-30 GVR 18-usc-922 constitutional-vagueness criminal-law due-process firearm-regulation mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation vagueness 1. Should the Court grant review, vacate the judgment below, and remand to the Ninth Circuit based on this Court's holding in Rehaif v. United States,…
19-557 Cedric L. McDonald v. United States Armed Forces 2019-10-29 Denied Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) bodily-harm consent court-martial criminal-law due-process mens-rea military-justice sexual-assault Whether Congress's omission of a mens rea for the offense of sexual assault by bodily harm means mere negligence as to the lack of consent suffices.
19-6423 Halisi Uhuru v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-10-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-conviction criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process federal-investigation federal-jurisdiction incarceration legal-proceeding mens-rea obstruction-of-justice rico rico-organization 1. The Appellant was improperly convicted of participating in a RICO organization, 18 U.S.C. §1962(d), because he was incarcerated during the vast maj…
19-6391 Robert Chin v. Mark Capozza, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution at Fayette, et al. Third Circuit 2019-10-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy criminal-intent criminal-law due-process homicide malicious-act mens-rea third-degree-murder unintended-consequence unintentional-act 1. Is the due process clause offended where a criminal defendant is found guilty of conspiracy to commit third degree murder, which is a homicide that…
19-530 James Kerr Schlosser v. United States Third Circuit 2019-10-22 Denied Response Waived civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process evidence-denial judicial-misconduct mens-rea reasonableness religious-beliefs restitution right-to-a-complete-defense state-of-mind statutory-authority willfulness 1. Whether the lower courts erred regarding the denied evidence, violating the defendant's constitutional right to a complete defense, if the evidence…
19-6320 Nalen Pierre Williams v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-10-21 Denied IFP 18-usc-922g1 criminal-law criminal-statute due-process felon-in-possession firearm-possession legal-status mens-rea plain-error reasonable-doubt rehaif-precedent rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation Whether the Court should grant certiorari, vacate the judgment below, and remand for reconsideration in light of Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2…
19-6282 Aldo Salazar-Martinez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-10-17 Denied IFP alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law drug-offenses drug-statute due-process federal-criminal-code flores-figueroa-v-united-states mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation strict-liability Whether, in light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), and Alleyne v. United Sta…
19-495 Martin Shkreli v. United States Second Circuit 2019-10-16 Denied Response Waived bank-fraud forfeiture-calculation good-faith good-faith-defense jury-instruction jury-instructions loss-causation mail-fraud materiality mens-rea no-ultimate-harm prosecutorial-standard securities-fraud statutory-interpretation wire-fraud In prosecutions for mail, wire and bank fraud, which require a finding of a loss or an intended loss by the victim, a "no ultimate harm" instruction h…
19-6262 Liddon Young v. United States Second Circuit 2019-10-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-abetting aiding-and-abetting burden-of-proof criminal-intent federal-firearms-law felon-possession firearm-disposal firearms-transfer knowledge-requirement mens-rea prohibited-persons prosecution-burden prosecution-strategy statutory-interpretation 1. Since the Supreme Court has now held, in Rehaif v. United States , that in a prosecution under §922(g) and §924(a)(2), the Government must prove b…
19-6178 Jose Bryan Gonzalez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-10-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process federal-firearms-law firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(n) authorizes conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there is no …
19-6192 Lagenza Junious v. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2019-10-07 Denied IFP criminal-procedure diminished-capacity ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel involuntary-intoxication involuntary-plea mens-rea plea-bargaining sixth-amendment strickland-standard strickland-v-washington 1. PETITIONER, LAGENZA JUNIOUS, ALLEGED THAT HIS TRIAL COUNSEL WAS INEFFECTIVE FOR FAILING TO RAISE A DIMINISHED CAPACITY DEFENSE TO FIRST DEGREE MURD…
19-6114 Antwoyn Anderson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-10-01 GVR Relisted (4)IFP armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split elements-clause mens-rea reckless serious-drug-offense violent-felony I. Whether possession with intent to sell cocaine under Fla. Stat. § 893.13 is a "serious drug offense" under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C.…
19-6072 Thomas Joseph Eppelsheimer v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2019-09-27 Denied IFP age-of-consent criminal-law due-process fifth-amendment ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mens-rea sexual-assault statutory-rape strickland-v-washington Is Texas Penal Code §§ 21.11(a)(1), Indecency with a Child, and 22.011(a)(2), Sexual Assault of a Child, two statutory rape offenses that criminalize …
19-6025 Javier Segovia-Lopez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-09-24 GVR Relisted (3)IFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-statute due-process federal-sentencing force force-against-person immigration-law mens-rea mental-state reckless-conduct reckless-mental-state recklessness statutory-interpretation use-of-force Whether a statute has as an element the use of force against the person of another when a conviction under that statute can be based on a reckless men…
19-373 James Walker v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-09-19 Granted Amici (7)Relisted (2) armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split courts-of-appeals criminal-offense mens-rea recklessness statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether a criminal offense that can be committed with a mens rea of recklessness can qualify as a "violent felony" under the Armed Career Criminal Act…
19-5929 Abisai Ramirez-Anguiano v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-09-16 Denied IFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense drug-offenses mens-rea methamphetamine scienter sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Section 2D1.1(b)(5) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines provides that "[i]f (A) the offense involved the importation of ... methamphetamine or …
19-5852 Roosevelt Leon Cooper v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-09-06 GVR IFP case-law certiorari criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process judicial-review mens-rea rehaif-standard remand statutory-interpretation supreme-court supreme-court-precedent vacatur Whether the Court should grant certiorari, vacate the judgment below, and remand for reconsideration in light of Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2…
19-5832 Daniel G. Durain v. Florida Florida 2019-09-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law criminal-procedure due-process endangered-species-act environmental-regulation evidence federal-agency-discretion habitat-conservation judicial-interpretation jury-instructions mens-rea premeditation reasonable-doubt In a First degree premeditated murder trial, can motive be used to establish premeditation? If so, is a defendant's conviction unconstitutional where…
19-5777 Donielle Rashi Ross v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-09-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law domestic-violence legal-precedent mens-rea misdemeanor-crime physical-force recklessness recklessness-standard second-amendment statutory-interpretation supreme-court supreme-court-interpretation use-of-force voisine-v-united-states Whether this Court's holding in Voisine v. United States, __U.S.__, 136 S.Ct. 2272 (2016), that recklessness is consistent with the "use of physical f…
19-5763 Jose Lara-Garcia v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-30 GVR Relisted (4)IFP circuit-split criminal-law federal-law federal-sentencing immigration immigration-law mens-rea reckless-mental-state recklessness sentencing statutory-interpretation use-of-force Whether a statute has as an element the use of force against the person of another when a conviction under that statute can be based on a reckless men…
19-5727 Trayvon Smith v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-08-29 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (5)IFP against-the-person-of-another crime-of-violence criminal-law federal-court federal-law federal-recidivism intentional-conduct mens-rea negligence recidivism recidivism-enhancement sentencing sentencing-guidelines state-court-interpretation state-law 1) Whether, when determining whether a state offense qualifies as a crime of violence, a federal court is bound by the decision of the state's highest…
19-5749 Juan Manuel Perez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-08-29 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (5)IFP against-the-person-of-another crime-of-violence criminal-law federal-court federal-law federal-recidivism intentional-conduct mens-rea negligence recidivism recidivism-enhancement sentencing sentencing-guidelines state-law statutory-interpretation 1) Whether, when determining whether a state offense qualifies as a crime of violence, a federal court is bound by the decision of the state's highest…
19-5753 Trayone Lefferio Bell v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-08-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-1029 constitutional-rights criminal-intent criminal-law-mens-rea criminal-procedure due-process flores-figueroa-v-united-states intent jury-instructions knowingly knowledge mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation 1) To satisfy the "knowingly" and with "intent" in 18 U.S.C. § 1029(A)(3), Do Courts have to prove precise "mens rea" as set forth in Rehaif v. United…
19-5699 Robert Gray v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-23 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP commerce-clause criminal-law criminal-procedure criminal-statute due-process federal-firearms-law federal-jurisdiction federal-law firearm-possession firearms interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g ) authoriz es conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there i…
19-5654 Shederro Lemarc Brooks v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-statute due-process federal-firearms-law federal-law firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g ) authoriz es conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there i…
19-5601 Clinton Devone Hicks v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-16 GVR Relisted (2)IFP criminal-law criminal-penalties due-process felony felony-status firearms firearms-possession indictment-requirements interstate-commerce knowledge mens-rea prior-conviction statutory-interpretation statutory-maximum I. Whether 18 U.S.C. § 924(a) provides for criminal penalties for felons who possess firearms in interstate commerce absent proof that they knew of th…
19-5574 Anthony Ray Welch v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-13 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-law drug-importation drug-offenses fifth-circuit listed-chemicals mens-rea methamphetamine methamphetamine-offense scienter scienter-requirement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Section 2D1.1(b)(5) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines provides that "[i]f (A) the offense involved the importation of ... methamphetamine or …
19-5478 Wilfredo Roy Madrigal v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-08-06 Denied Relisted (2)IFP acca career-offender circuit-split controlled-substance-offense eleventh-circuit mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Is a post-2002 conviction for sale of cocaine or possession with intent to sell cocaine in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13 a "controlled substance of…
19-5456 Ibrahim McCants v. United States Third Circuit 2019-08-05 GVR IFP anonymous-tip categorical-approach criminal-law criminal-statute divisibility-of-state-statutes domestic-violence due-process federal-criminal-procedure firearms fourth-amendment mathis-v-united-states mens-rea police-stop-and-frisk reasonable-suspicion rehaif-standard rehaif-v-united-states statutory-interpretation stop-and-frisk supreme-court-precedent third-circuit-court-of-appeals 1. In light of this Court's recent decision in Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), should this Court grant certiorari, vacate the judgmen…
19-5383 Christopher Stacy v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-07-31 GVR IFP case-law certiorari criminal-law criminal-procedure judicial-review mens-rea rehaif-standard rehaif-v-united-states remand statutory-interpretation supreme-court supreme-court-precedent vacatur Whether the Court should grant certiorari, vacate the judgment below, and remand for reconsideration in light of Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2…
19-5410 Charles Borden, Jr. v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-07-31 Judgment Issued Amici (7)Relisted (4)IFP armed-career-criminal-act due-process mens-rea recklessness retroactivity sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation use-of-force 1. Does the "use of force" clause in the Armed Career Criminal Act (the "ACCA"), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) encompass crimes with a mens rea of mere …
19-5330 Maurice Montrae Parks v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-07-26 GVR IFP burden-of-proof constitutional-validity criminal-conviction criminal-procedure criminal-statute due-process firearm-possession firearms jury-instruction jury-instructions mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states second-amendment statutory-interpretation Whether a new trial is warranted where the District Court failed to instruct the jury that, in order to convict a person under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), it …
19-5325 Alan Victor Gomez Gomez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-07-25 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (5)IFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-statute federal-jurisdiction federal-procedure force-element immigration-law mens-rea reckless-mental-state sentencing sentencing-law statutory-interpretation Whether a statute has as an element the use of force against the person of another when a conviction under that statute can be based on a reckless men…
19-102 Leroy Baca v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-07-22 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) 18-usc-1503 consciousness-of-wrongdoing constitutional-rights criminal-intent criminal-willfulness jury-anonymity mens-rea obstruction-of-justice public-trial specific-intent 1. Twenty years ago, the First Circuit stated: "The scienter element in the obstruction statute is the subject of more confusing case law than can be …
19-5198 Robert Rang v. United States First Circuit 2019-07-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP attempted-coercion attempted-enticement criminal-law due-process enticement-of-a-minor federal-criminal-statute interpersonal-physical-contact mens-rea minor-protection minors sexual-activity sexual-offense sexual-offenses statutory-interpretation Does a "substantial step" under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) [attempted coercion and enticement of a minor] require evidence of intended "interpersonal physica…
19-5098 Ronald F. White, Jr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-07-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP circuit-split constructive-possession criminal-intent criminal-law evidence-requirement firearm-registration mens-rea national-firearms-act staples-v-united-states In Staples v. United States, the Court held that to obtain a conviction under 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d), the government was required to prove that the defen…
19-5078 Jamie Neil Capalbo v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-07-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924 armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split criminal-offense elements-clause mens-rea physical-force reckless-mens-rea statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether a criminal offense with a reckless mens rea qualifies as a "violent felony" under the elements clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act, which …
19-5037 Gilberto Villanueva, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-07-02 Denied Relisted (2)IFP alleyne-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey armed-career-criminal armed-career-criminal-act criminal-statute descamps-v-united-states district-court-fact-finding felon-in-possession johnson-descamps-precedent johnson-v-united-states mens-rea Should the District Court be allowed to find the facts necessary in order to qualify defendant as an Armed Career Criminal or should precedent such as…
18-1589 James Doyle Collins, Jr. v. Texas Texas 2019-06-27 Denied contraband contraband-possession criminal-intent criminal-law criminal-possession criminal-procedure destruction-of-evidence due-process evidence evidence-destruction intent intentional-possession mens-rea possession possession-law statutory-interpretation Whether the act of an accused to delete or destroy contraband constitutes a "knowing or intentional possession" of the contraband.
18-9796 Anthony Bernard Jimerson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-06-25 Denied Relisted (2)IFP acca career-offender circuit-split controlled-substance-offense mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Is a post-2002 conviction for sale of cocaine in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13 a "controlled substance offense" as defined in U.S.S8.G. § 4B1.2(b) …
18-9772 William Jerome Howard, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-06-24 Denied Relisted (2)IFP 21-usc-841 cocaine-possession controlled-substance-offense criminal-law drug-offenses federal-sentencing federal-sentencing-guidelines felony-drug-offense florida florida-drug-law mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation ussg-4b1.2 Drug offenses in Florida are unlike most states insofar as in Florida, the prosecution does not have to prove a defendant knew the illicit nature of a…
18A1344 Saquawn Harris v. United States District of Columbia 2019-06-20 Presumed Complete accomplice-liability aiding-and-abetting appellate-review criminal-law jury-instructions mens-rea Question not identified.
18-9726 Lorenzo Hale v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-06-19 GVR IFP 2nd-amendment criminal-procedure criminal-statute felon-in-possession firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea prior-occasion recent-past state-lines statutory-interpretation 1. Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g ) authoriz es conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there i…
18-9699 Jose Garcia v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-06-18 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP alleyne alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law drug-statute due-process flores-figueroa mens-rea sentencing statutory-interpretation strict-liability I. In light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), does the "knowingly or intentionally" mens rea contained in 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) …
18-9687 Candelario Lucio-Garza v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-06-17 Denied IFP attempted-crime attempted-reentry circuit-conflict criminal-law federal-jurisdiction immigration mens-rea specific-intent united-states-v-resendiz-ponce Does the crime of attempted illegal reentry incorporate the common-law mens rea of a specific intent to commit the completed offense?
18-9684 David Prien-Pinto v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-06-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-challenge criminal-law criminal-law-procedure due-process federal-statute mens-rea sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation stolen-firearm Does the commentary at U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1, Application Note 8, which does not require a mens rea to impose the stolen firearm enhancement at U.S.S.G. § …
18-9661 William Kostopoulos v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-06-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-1512 criminal-procedure criminal-statute federal-jurisdiction federal-nexus law-enforcement mens-rea misdemeanor obstruction-of-justice statutory-interpretation WHETHER A DEFENDANT'S GENERAL DENIAL TO STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS THAT HE COMMITTED A MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE IS SUFFICIENT TO MEET THE FEDERAL NEXUS…
18A1277 Anthony Wayne Bettcher v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-06-06 Presumed Complete circuit-split crime-of-violence force-clause mens-rea reckless-offense sentencing-guidelines Question not identified.
18-9547 Antwan Bernard Williams v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-06-05 Denied Relisted (2)IFP acca acca-serious-drug-offense armed-career-criminal-act drug-offense eleventh-circuit elonis-v-united-states franklin-v-united-states mens-rea resisting-officer sentencing-enhancement strict-liability united-states-v-smith violent-felony Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit erroneously concluded in finding Petitioner's Fla. Stat. § 893.13 drug offenses qu…
18-9478 David Rothenberg v. Florida Florida 2019-05-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP affidavit constitutional-rights criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process mens-rea plea-bargaining probable-cause probable-cause-affidavit probation prosecutorial-misconduct 1. Is the use by the presecutor of a "probable cause affidavit" containing averments contradictory to the alleged victim's own sworn statement to char…
18-9444 Gregory Greer v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-05-28 GVR IFP 922(g) 924(a)(2) commerce-clause congressional-authority criminal-law criminal-statute due-process firearm-possession firearms interstate-commerce mens-rea scarborough-v-united-states statutory-interpretation united-states-v-lopez 1. Whether—in light of intervening authority in United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995)—Congress may rely on Scarborough v. United States, 431 U.S…
18-9424 Lamar Eady, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-05-24 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP 18-usc-922 18-usc-924 appellate-review criminal-law due-process federal-criminal-law federal-statute felon-in-possession knowingly legal-elements mens-rea possession rehaif-v-united-states second-amendment status statutory-interpretation 1. Does the "knowingly" provision of 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2) apply to both the possession and status elements of a 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) crime ? The Court …
18-9301 Skip Earnest Ralph Lomax v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-05-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP confidential-informant criminal-enhancement criminal-law felon-possession firearms firearms-trafficking intent knowledge mens-rea sentencing statutory-interpretation unlawful-use Did the court below err in finding that the firearms-trafficking enhancement applied when Mr. Lomax did not know that that confidential informant purc…
18-9104 Kurt Zamor v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-05-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure common-carrier criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-rule-16 evidence evidence-sufficiency expert-testimony firearms firearms-regulation mens-rea sentencing sentencing-review statutory-interpretation I. WHETHER THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FAILED TO PROPERLY APPLY TITLE 18 U.S.C. SECTION 922(e) IN DETERMINING WHETHER THE EVIDENCE WAS SUFFICIENT TO ESTABLIS…
18-9071 Jason Moody v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-05-01 GVR Relisted (2)IFP criminal-law criminal-penalties due-process felon-in-possession felon-possession firearm-law firearms interstate-commerce knowledge-requirement mens-rea statutory-interpretation 1. Whether 18 U.S.C. §924(a) provides for criminal penalties to felons who possess firearms in interstate commerce absent proof that they knew of thei…
18-8999 Mark Richard Hillstrom v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-04-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-threat due-process elonis-standard elonis-v-united-states grand-jury harmless-error indictment intent mens-rea mental-state statutory-interpretation Whether, in light of this Court's holding in Elonis v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2001 (2015), that, to obtain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), t…
18-8965 Olusola Olla v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-04-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof circuit-split criminal-knowledge criminal-law criminal-procedure deliberate-indifference federal-courts investigative-standard jury-instructions mens-rea prosecutorial-evidence statutory-interpretation willful-blindness 1. Whether, in a criminal case where a statute requires proof of knowledge, the government may establish the requisite knowledge with evidence of a fa…
18-8911 Gerald Humbert v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-04-22 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 11th-circuit acca acca-serious-drug-offense armed-career-criminal-act certiorari criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-offense eleventh-circuit florida-statute florida-statute-893-13 mens-rea serious-drug-offense statutory-interpretation united-states-v-smith Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit should have granted COA as to whether petitioner's Fla. Stat. § 893.13 drug offens…
18-8941 Sheldon Lamont Jackson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-04-22 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-history elements-clause florida-statute johnson-v-united-states leocal-v-ashcroft mens-rea possession-with-intent-to-sell sentencing-enhancement serious-drug-offense violent-felony The broad question presented by this case is whether the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals erroneously affirmed Mr. Jackson's sentence under the Armed…
18-8898 Melinda J. Campbell v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-04-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-prosecution economic-harm hobbs-act hobbs-act,economic-harm,criminal-law,mens-rea,prec mens-rea precedent sixth-circuit supreme-court-precedent wrongful-conduct Whether the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals disregarded this Court's established precedent set forth in United States v. Enmons, 410 U.S. 396 (1973), a…
18-8842 Michael Demon Nixon v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-04-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause criminal-procedure due-process federal-firearms-law-922g firearm-possession interstate-commerce mens-rea plain-error-review plea-agreement statutory-interpretation sufficiency-of-evidence sullivan-v-louisiana I. Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g) authorizes conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there is …
18-8830 Julio Cesar De La Rosa v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-04-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law due-process firearms mens-rea misdemeanor-crime-of-violence physical-force statutory-interpretation voisine-v-united-states I. Whether this Court's holding in Voisine v. United States, __U.S.__,136 S.Ct. 2272 (2016), that recklessness is consistent with the "use of physical…
18-8600 Tony McLeod v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-03-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP cell-phones circuit-split criminal-evidence digital-forensics expert-testimony federal-rules-of-evidence fourth-amendment internet-anonymity lay-testimony mens-rea rule-702 sixth-amendment statutory-interpretation 1. Whether using Cellebrite technology to download forensic digital evidence from a cell phone requires specialized or technical knowledge so that the…
18-8617 Kristen Patrick Doyle v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-03-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal appeals circuit-court-review criminal-procedure due-process habeas-corpus jurisdiction legal-motion-type mens-rea sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Did the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit err in its denial of Defendant - Appellant's Motion to be granted relief under the clari…
18-8584 Antwan Jones v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-03-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP conspiracy constitutional-challenge criminal-conspiracy criminal-law criminal-procedure drug-statute due-process federal-indictment federal-jurisdiction mens-rea statutory-interpretation statutory-vagueness title-21-usc-846 vagueness I. Count 1 Conspiracy Indictment is insufficient on its face because it omitted essential element(s) that the Government had to prove. (a). Is Title …
18-8547 Zachary Joseph Biggs v. Washington Washington 2019-03-25 Denied IFP appellate-review criminal-intent criminal-procedure diminished-capacity first-degree-rape ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mens-rea ninth-circuit prejudice Mr. Biggs alleged that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to raise the defense of diminished capacity. The facts and evidence in the record…
18-8469 Edwin Oland Andrus v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-03-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-2422(b) age-of-consent coercion consensual-sexual-activity criminal-attempt criminal-law criminal-law-procedure due-process enticement entrapment federal-criminal-law mens-rea minor sexual-activity statutory-interpretation The plain language of the crime of attempted enticement or coercion, pursuant to 18 U.S.C § 2422(b), requires that a person under the age of 18 must b…
18-8447 Javis Wilson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-03-18 Denied Relisted (4)IFP acca acca-predicate armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split drug-offense elonis-v-united-states mens-rea sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation strict-liability united-states-v-smith Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit erroneously concluded in in finding. Petitioner's Fla. Stat. § 893.13 drug - offen…
18-8417 Robert Jackson v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-03-13 Denied IFP 18-usc-287 circuit-split criminal-law false-claim false-claims false-claims-act good-faith-defense knowledge mens-rea statutory-interpretation willfulness I. In a prosecution for filing a false claim against the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287, does the mens rea element require a showing of…
18-8360 Fernando Castillo-Quintanilla v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law drug-statute due-process flores-figueroa flores-figueroa-v-united-states mens-rea rehaif sentencing strict-liability I. In light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), does the "knowingly or intentionally" mens rea contained in 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) …
18-8312 Dayomashell David Aguilar v. William Gittere, Warden, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-03-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-and-abetting conspiracy criminal-procedure first-degree-murder jury-instructions mens-rea miscarriage-of-justice 1. Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in denying a certificate of appealability on Aguilar's claim that the jury instructions relieved the State of the b…
18-8244 Justin Keith Cornell v. Virginia Virginia 2019-03-04 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP actus-reus appellate-review cause-of-death circumstantial-evidence criminal-agency criminal-conviction due-process jury-standard mens-rea reasonable-doubt second-degree-murder sufficiency-of-evidence As a result of state court proceedings, the Commonwealth of Virginia obtained a conviction before a jury for second-degree murder against Justin Corne…
18-8224 Antonio Dickerson, aka Girbaud v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-03-01 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP child-pornography constitutional-challenge fifth-amendment first-amendment mandatory-minimum mens-rea strict-liability In Elonis v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2001 (2015), this Court recently held that a federal criminal threats statute required a knowingly mens rea and…
18-1131 United States v. Eric Quinn Franklin Ninth Circuit 2019-02-28 Dismissed accomplice-liability armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach controlled-substances-act mens-rea serious-drug-offense state-drug-offense statutory-interpretation Whether a state drug offense must categorically match the elements of a generic analogue offense, including with respect to the mens rea for any poten…
18-8082 Elton Lee Baker, Sr. v. Florida Florida 2019-02-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP attempt charging-information criminal-attempt criminal-conviction criminal-procedure due-process mens-rea strict-liability CAN A CITIZEN BE CONVICTED OF AN UNCHARGED CRIME OF ATTEMPT OF THE PRIMARY CHARGES IN THE CHARGING INFORMATION WITHOUT THE ATTEMPT STATUTE BEING INCLU…
18-8050 Alvaun Thompson v. United States Second Circuit 2019-02-21 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP age-requirement aggravated-offense criminal-statute federal-criminal-law mens-rea minors sentencing sex-trafficking strict-liability under-14 A federal criminal statute this Court has not construed, 18 U.S.C. § 1591, prohibits wide-ranging conduct that facilitates, directly or indirectly, th…
18-7816 Jason Brooks v. Phil Weiser, Attorney General of Colorado, et al. Colorado 2019-02-07 Denied IFP constitutional-law criminal-intent criminal-securities-fraud due-process fair-notice mens-rea scienter securities-fraud statutory-interpretation strict-liability willfulness Whether "scienter" is an element of criminal securities fraud and whether its existence is a question of fact that must be proven beyond a reasonable …
18-7833 Jerome Hayes v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-02-07 Denied Relisted (4)IFP begay begay-v-united-states categorical-approach certificate-of-appealability circuit-split criminal-statute mens-rea serious-drug-offense staples staples-v-united-states strict-liability I. Is a post-2002 conviction for sale of cocaine or possession of cocaine with intent to sell in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13 a "serious drug offe…
18-7720 Howard Webber v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-02-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split consent consent-defense criminal-law due-process federal-criminal-procedure federal-statute identity-theft mens-rea statutory-interpretation Can a defendant commit aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A by using another person's identifying information with that person'…
18-7722 Rodrigo Escobedo-Coronado v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-02-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravated-assault circuit-split criminal-law federal-criminal-law federal-offense federal-sentencing mens-rea model-penal-code state-survey statutory-interpretation Does the federal generic aggravated assault offense require more than a merely reckless mens rea, as determined by the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Circuit…
18-7700 Luther Gene Ray v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-01-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law due-process federal-statute force-requirement human-trafficking interstate-commerce mens-rea sentencing sex-trafficking statutory-interpretation Whether a conviction resulting in a fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 1591 requires, as the statute says, that force "was used…
18-7612 Nathaniel Bowens v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-01-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924(c)(1)(A) advance-knowledge aiding-and-abetting court-of-appeals crime-of-violence criminal-procedure drug-trafficking-crime firearm firearm-use mens-rea statutory-interpretation Whether the Court of Appeals' decision below contravenes this Court's holding in Rosemond v. United States, 572 U.S. 65, 78 (2014) that in order to ai…
18-7490 Dan Reed v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-01-24 GVR Relisted (2)IFP 8th-amendment criminal-law due-process felon-in-possession mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states sentencing statutory-interpretation 1. Whether the "knowingly" provision of 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2) applies to both the possession and status elements of a 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) crime? This C…
18-7500 Clay O'Brien Mann v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-01-22 Denied IFP 18-usc-113 18-usc-924 armed-career-criminal-act assault crime-of-violence criminal-law criminal-statute elements-clause firearm-discharge mens-rea recklessness violent-crime Whether a felony offense with a recklessness mens rea, such as reckless driving while intoxicated, satisfies the requirements of the elements clauses …
18-7485 Marcus Noel v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-01-18 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP criminal-law criminal-prosecution due-process extraterritorial-jurisdiction hostage-taking international-law jurisdictional-elements mens-rea nationality necessary-and-proper-clause treaty-power 1. When the United States prosecutes a foreign national for kidnapping a United States citizen in a foreign country, must the government prove that th…
18-7471 Mark Henry, aka Weida Zheng, aka Scott Russel, aka Bob Wilson, aka Joanna Zhong v. United States Second Circuit 2019-01-17 Denied IFP arms-export-control-act court-interpreters-act criminal-procedure mens-rea nondelegation-doctrine separation-of-powers statutory-interpretation 1. Whether a "willful" violation of the Arms Export Control Act (""AECA"), 22 U.S.C. § 2778, requires proof that the defendant was aware of the export…
18-7432 Cornell W. Barber v. United States District of Columbia 2019-01-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act bodily-injury criminal-law criminal-statute curtis-johnson-v-united-states mens-rea reckless reckless-conduct reckless-mens-rea united-states-v-castleman violent-felony I. Whether a criminal offense with a reckless mens rea -- in this case, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon under D.C. Code § 22402, which can be violated…
18-7345 Mario Gonzalez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-01-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-2518(9) burden-of-proof due-process exclusionary-mandate mens-rea notice statutory-interpretation wire-intercepts In the case, as in hundreds of cases over the years since the enactment of Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, which …
18-7306 Michael Martin Steele v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-01-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravated-felony criminal-law criminal-mental-state due-process immigration immigration-law mens-rea statutory-interpretation strict-liability united-states-v-x-citement-video Did the Ninth and Eleventh Circuits misconstrue the mens-rea requirements of 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(B), when they created an aggravated felony for "il…
18-7232 Arthur Sanchez v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-01-04 Denied IFP aggravated-assault aggravated-battery armed-career-criminal-act elements-clause force force-clause johnson-definition mens-rea physical-force state-appellate-courts state-robbery victim-resistance violent-felony I. Is a state robbery offense, that includes as an element the requirement of overcoming victim resistance by use of force, a violent felony under the…
18-7215 Salih Zeki Uces v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-01-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP constructive-amendment criminal-procedure due-process fifth-amendment indictment-amendment international-kidnapping international-parental-kidnapping jury-instructions mens-rea parental-rights Whether, the Eleventh Circuit violated Mr. Uces's rights under the Fifth Amendment, where it upheld the district court decision to constructively amen…
18-7096 Reinaldo Santos v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-12-19 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (4)IFP acca acca-violent-felony armed-career-criminal-act battery categorical-approach circuit-split descamps divisibility florida florida-battery mathis mens-rea modified-categorical-approach sixth-amendment violent-felony 1. Is the "touches or strikes' language in the Florida battery statutes divisible under Descamps v. United States, 133 S.Ct. 2276 (2013) and Mathis v.…
18-7102 Curtis D. Huling v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-12-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravated-assault controlled-substance-offense crime-of-violence mens-rea mental-state physical-force recklessness sentencing-guidelines sentencing-guidelines-4b1.1 voisine-v-united-states Section 4B1.1(a) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines raises the offense level for a "crime of violence" or "controlled substance offense" commi…
18-7105 Tavaris Jemario Hunter v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-12-19 Denied Relisted (4)IFP acca begay-v-united-states categorical-approach circuit-split elonis-v-united-states mens-rea second-fifth-ninth-circuits serious-drug-offense staples-v-united-states statutory-interpretation strict-liability Is a post-2002 conviction for sale of cocaine or possession of cocaine with intent to sell in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13 a "serious drug offense…
18-7113 Dewey Hylor v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-12-19 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act attempted-offense circuit-conflict criminal-conviction elements-clause florida-robbery mens-rea reckless-mens-rea violent-felony Whether petitioner's prior conviction for Florida robbery in violation of Fla. Stat. § 812.13, is not a "violent felony" under the elements clause Arm…
18-7123 Derrick Michael Allen, Sr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-12-19 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP criminal-defendant criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process firearm-possession firearms legal-knowledge mens-rea second-amendment statutory-interpretation statutory-offense Whether 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g) and 924 require the government to prove a criminal defendant's mens rea as to each substantive element of the enumerated s…
18-7050 Javier Portillo v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-12-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP border-crossing border-search criminal-evidence criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence jury knowledge-standard mens-rea narcotics-possession ninth-circuit standard-of-proof sufficiency-of-evidence trial-sufficiency Whether the Ninth Circuit's analysis of the facts was inadequate and whether, when the entirety of facts presented at trial was considered, there was …
18-7071 Chad Preston Brewer v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-12-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause commerce-clause-authority firearm-possession interstate-commerce legislative-history mens-rea police-power statutory-interpretation I. This Court should use this case to answer the reoccurring, important question whether, when enacting the Unlawful Possession of a Firearm or Ammuni…
18-752 Edward Taupier v. Connecticut Connecticut 2018-12-12 Denied Response Waived civil-procedure criminal-law free-speech mens-rea negligence objective-standard recklessness scienter speech-act state-of-mind true-threats The first question presented is: Whether in a prosecution for speech under the "true threats" doctrine an objective standard of mere recklessness is s…
18-6979 Lewis Carnell Jackson v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-12-11 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-offense culpable-negligence deference federal-circuit-courts federal-courts mens-rea sentencing-enhancement state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether a criminal offense with a mens rea of "culpable negligence" qualifies as a "violent felony" under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 9…
18-6937 Steven Arthur Morrill v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-12-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP attempt criminal-law due-process eleventh-circuit jury-instructions mens-rea sexual-offense statutory-interpretation It is a crime for a person to induce or attempt to induce a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b). The statute criminalizes …
18-6950 Jason Wayne McBride v. Texas Texas 2018-12-07 Denied IFP 5th-amendment amendment civil-rights constitutional-law criminal-intent criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process indictment-amendment mens-rea speedy-trial statutory-interpretation texas-penal-code waived even though it is observed and Texas Penal Code § 25.1(d) prohibited the use of more counts for the same offense arising out of the same crimin…
18-6891 Joseph C. Garcia v. Texas Texas 2018-11-30 Denied IFP 8th-amendment capital-punishment civil-rights criminal-intent cruel-and-unusual-punishment culpability death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment intent-to-kill mens-rea non-triggerman state-execution Whether the Eighth Amendment now forbids a State from executing a person when there is no evidence that he killed or intended to kill another person.
18-6832 Keddron Rakee West v. Georgia Georgia 2018-11-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-law criminal-defense criminal-procedure due-process indictment mens-rea mistake-of-fact statutory-interpretation statutory-rape Is due process violated by not allowing Petitioner to rely upon the statutory enacted mistake of fact defense as his sole defense to an indictment for…
18-6801 Van McDuffy v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-11-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP accidental-killing bank-robbery criminal-law criminal-statute felony-murder intent mandatory-minimum mandatory-sentencing mens-rea sentencing statutory-interpretation What intent, if any, beyond the intent to commit bank robbery, is required to sustain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2113(e), which imposes a mandator…
18-6824 Martavious Detrel Banks Keys v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-11-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 349 U.S. 81 (1955) on double-jeopardy bell-v-united-states congressional-intent criminal-procedure double-jeopardy fifth-amendment law-enforcement mens-rea multiple-punishments single-statute testimony I. This Court should grant certiorari in this case to answer to resolve a division in the case law and an important question of double jeopardy jurisp…
18-6797 Stephanie Irene Greene v. South Carolina South Carolina 2018-11-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP but no text was provided for me to analyze. Witho I cannot generate a question presented or identif please provide the full text of the petition. conviction criminal-procedure due-process jury-instructions mens-rea scientific-evidence standard-of-review I. Did the South Carolina Supreme Court apply the proper standard of review under Jackson v. Virginia when they affirmed the conviction of Stephanie I…
18-6768 Michael Perez v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-11-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause criminal-law criminal-law-sentencing due-process federal-sentencing-guidelines mens-rea resisting-arrest state-criminal-law statutory-interpretation violence violent-crime 1. Whether the quantum of force required by the elements of the Florida offense of resisting with violence, Fla. Stat. § 843.01, is sufficient to qual…
18-6755 Daederick Lacy v. United States Tenth Circuit 2018-11-20 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3)IFP age-of-consent criminal-sexual-activity interstate-commerce mens-rea minor prostitution statutory-interpretation transportation-of-minors Does the statute require proof that the defendant knew the individual transported had not attained the age of 18 years? Does the statute require proo…
18-6707 Alberto Jair Proa-Dominguez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-11-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law criminal-sentencing drug-offenses drug-statute due-process flores-figueroa-v-united-states mens-rea statutory-interpretation strict-liability L In light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), does the "knowingly or intentionally' mens rea contained in 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) a…
18-6697 Kevin Marquette Bellinger v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-11-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof criminal-procedure due-process evidence federal-jurisdiction jury jury-instructions malice-aforethought mens-rea murder murder-conviction statutory-interpretation sufficiency-of-evidence Whether there was sufficient evidence presented to the jury in Bellinger's case to convict Bellinger of murder as alleged in Counts One and Two, where…
18-6662 Eddie Lee Shular v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-11-13 Judgment Issued Amici (3)Relisted (3)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach circuit-split mens-rea sentencing-enhancement serious-drug-offense statutory-construction violent-felony Whether the determination of a "serious drug offense" under the Armed Career Criminal Act requires the same categorical approach used in the determina…
18-597 John Ching En Lee v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-11-06 Denied agency-decision ambiguous-question false-statement false-statement-defense literal-truth materiality mens-rea real-world-context statutory-interpretation 1. When determining whether an alleged false statement has a literal truth defense, may a court isolate the ambiguous question or view it in the total…
18-6545 Frankie Calanche Lopez v. California California 2018-11-02 Denied IFP appeal criminal-intent criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process intent intent-element mens-rea opportunistic-crime robbery robbery-intent statutory-interpretation Does it matter. Appeal's Court Judge States It Consequently, whether defendant intended to commit robbery from the moment he first approached or punce…
18-6547 Christopher Brooks v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-11-01 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 18-usc-924 armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split criminal-offense elements-clause mens-rea physical-force reckless-mens-rea statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether a criminal offense with a reckless mens rea qualifies as a "violent felony" under the elements clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act, which …
18-6474 Tyrone Hart v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act begay-v-united-states categorical-approach controlled-substance criminal-statute drug-offense elonis-v-united-states federal-law florida-statute intent-to-sell mens-rea serious-drug-offense staples-v-united-states Is a post-2002 conviction for possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver a controlled substance in violation of Fla. Stat. § 893.13 a "se…
18-6424 Walter Lee Deiter v. United States Tenth Circuit 2018-10-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924(e) aiding-and-abetting armed-career-criminal-act bank-robbery criminal-sentencing force mens-rea violent-felony 1) whether aiding and abetting an unarmed bank robbery, which can be committed with a negligent or reckless mens rea, qualifies as a "violent felony''…
18-522 Michael Ishee v. Mississippi Mississippi 2018-10-19 Denied Response Waived child-pornography civil-rights due-process ex-post-facto first-amendment free-speech freedom-of-speech mens-rea scienter separation-of-powers void-ab-initio Governmental regulation of First Amendment rights, particularly freedom of speech and expression, draws close constitutional scrutiny since these righ…
18-6339 Michael T. Willan v. Petitioner Wisconsin 2018-10-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP civil-rights clear-and-present-danger constitutional-rights domestic-abuse due-process first-amendment free-speech injunction mens-rea notice The question is whether the Wisconsin sec. 813.12 Domestic Abuse statute requires Mens Rea, that the respondent be aware of the threatening nature of …
18-435 LabMD, Inc. v. Tiversa, Inc. Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-05 Denied Response Waived civil-procedure federal-agency fraud-on-court fraud-on-the-court government-fraud hazel-atlas intentional-misrepresentation judicial-procedure mens-rea rule-60 rule-60(d)(3) standing wilful-blindness Whether a judgment obtained by fraud on a court must be set aside pursuant to Hazel-Atlas Glass Co. v. Hartford-Empire Co., 322 U.S. 238 (1944) and Fe…
18-6191 Quordalis V. Sanders v. Carlo Esqueda, Dane County Clerk of Court Wisconsin 2018-10-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2nd-amendment administrative-law civil-procedure civil-rights due-process felon-in-possession free-speech mens-rea rehaif-v-united-states standing Question not identified.
18-6135 James K. Kahler v. Kansas Kansas 2018-09-28 Judgment Issued Amici (12)Relisted (7)IFP civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-law due-process eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment insanity-defense legal-history mens-rea mental-health Do the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments permit a state to abolish the insanity defense?
18-6097 Leonard G. Marquez v. United States Tenth Circuit 2018-09-25 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act burglary burglary-definition circuit-split mens-rea predicate-offense sentencing sentencing-enhancement tenth-circuit violent-felony I. Did the Tenth Circuit determine a New Mexico residential burglary is "burglary" under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) in a way that contravenes this C…
18-6073 Tramain Deon Price v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-09-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause commerce-clause-authority criminal-law firearm-possession interstate-commerce legislative-history mens-rea police-power statutory-interpretation I. This Court should use this case to answer the reoccurring, important question whether, when enacting the Unlawful Possession of a Firearm statute (…
18-370 Marlon Haight v. United States District of Columbia 2018-09-20 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) armed-career-criminal-act assault-with-dangerous-weapon circuit-split criminal-sentencing mens-rea reckless statutory-interpretation violent-felony Under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), a defendant convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) who has three previous convictions for …
18-5993 Douglas Roy Burns v. Connie Horton, Warden Sixth Circuit 2018-09-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process evidence jury-instructions mens-rea specific-intent WHETHER A STATE COURT MUST CONSTITUTIONALLY RECOGNIZE AND ALLOW A DEFENSE IN THE FORM OF TESTIMONY AND OR OTHER RELEVANT EVIDENCE WHICH DISPROVES THE …
18-5935 Julio Cesar Velasquez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-09-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne alleyne-v-united-states criminal-law drug-offense drug-offenses due-process flores-figueroa mens-rea sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation strict-liability I. In light of Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), does the "knowingly or intentionally" mens rea contained in 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) …
18-5844 Rocco Tinoco v. United States Tenth Circuit 2018-09-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-875 civil-rights criminal-law due-process first-amendment free-speech mens-rea recklessness statutory-interpretation whether a mental state of recklessness - absent Subjective intent to threaten - in conveying a threat is sufficient to support a conviction under 18 U…
18-5877 Levi Lapp Stoltzfoos v. John E. Wetzel, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al. Third Circuit 2018-09-04 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP cash-deposit civil-rights constitutional-challenge criminal-law criminal-mens-rea due-process financial-institution financial-institutions mens-rea money-laundering overbreadth overbroad-statute statutory-interpretation Is 18 Pa. C.S. § 5111(a)(8) unconstitutionally overbroad where the statute criminalizes the depositing of lawfully acquired cash into financial instit…
18-5835 Juan Fernando Lizarraga-Leyva v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-08-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravated-felony controlled-substance deportation drug-trafficking drug-trafficking-crime illicit-trafficking immigration-law immigration-nationality-act mens-rea state-law statutory-interpretation Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a noncitizen is subject to mandatory removal if convicted of an "aggravated felony." The list of aggravated…
18-5809 Robert Carl Sharp v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-08-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP analogue-drugs controlled-substances criminal-intent criminal-law drug-statute drug-testing knowledge-requirement knowledge-standard mens-rea willful-blindness Can recklessness or negligence amount to willful blindness? Can a defendant be found to be willfully blind because he failed to test a drug when test…
18-5795 Luis Antonio Ibarra v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-08-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause double-jeopardy felon-in-possession interstate-commerce legislative-history mens-rea statutory-interpretation I. This Court should grant certiorari in this case to establish that the bright line "Blockburger" double jeopardy test accepted in Dixon is the one a…
18-5748 Rory Allen Meeks v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-08-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP alleyne-v-united-states appellate-review constructive-amendment criminal-procedure drug-offense drug-offenses jury-instructions mccoy-v-louisiana mens-rea sentencing sixth-amendment QUESTION I: Whether reasonable jurists might debate the following three questions: - In light of Alleyne v. United States., 135 S. Ct. and Apprendi v.…
18-5684 Alejandro Verduzco-Rangel v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-08-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP aggravated-felony controlled-substance deportation drug-trafficking immigration-law immigration-nationality-act mens-rea statutory-interpretation Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a noncitizen is subject to mandatory removal if convicted of an "aggravated felony." The list of aggravated…
18-5532 Galindo Jose Ruiz-Hernandez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-08-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP alien-smuggling bodily-injury causation causation-standard criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing due-process foreseeability immigration mens-rea reasonable-foreseeability sentencing-enhancement sentencing-enhancements sentencing-guidelines standard-of-review Petitioner, GALINDO JOSE RUIZ-HERNANDEZ, was tried and convicted of transporting undocumented aliens within the United States. The District Court adde…
18-5426 Gabriel Rivero v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-08-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split criminal-intent criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process export-controls federal-law mens-rea munitions munitions-export smuggling statutory-interpretation Whether the Government may obtain a conviction for smuggling goods from the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 554 charged in conjunction with …
18-5444 Kenyan Deon Buchanan v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-08-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause commerce-clause-limits commerce-clause-limits,criminal-law,federal-power, constitutional-limits criminal-law due-process federal-criminal-law federal-power felon-in-possession firearms interstate-commerce mens-rea statutory-interpretation united-states-v-lopez I. This Court and individual Justices have increasingly explained that Congress's power under the Commerce Clause to criminalize conduct otherwise fal…
18-5314 Shannon Dale Smith v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-07-25 Denied IFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-law-sentencing criminal-statute firearm firearm-possession firearms intent mens-rea sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) increases the sentence of "any person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence . . . uses or carries a firearm, o…
18-5338 DeLawrence A. King v. Ronald Erdos, Warden Sixth Circuit 2018-07-25 Denied IFP certificate-of-appealability constitutional-rights due-process ineffective-assistance mens-rea procedural-default prosecutorial-misconduct self-defense sufficiency-of-evidence Did the Sixth Circuit Court error when it failed to grant Petitioner a Certificate Of Appealability after previously ruling in his favor, by stating t…
18-5329 Mario Donate Lockhart v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-07-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-law drug-offense elements-clause florida-criminal-law florida-statute florida-statute-843.01 mens-rea resisting-arrest statutory-interpretation violent-felony 1. Whether the Florida crime of resisting an officer with violence, in violation of Fla. Stat. §843.01, is a "violent felony" under the Armed Career C…
18-5298 Reuben Stewart v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-07-23 Denied IFP 18-usc-922g 18-usc-924 18-usc-924e2bii 8th-amendment aggravated-assault criminal-law due-process johnson-precedent johnson-v-united-states means-rea mens-rea recklessness sentencing statutory-interpretation violent-felony Does a prior conviction predicated on a means rea of recklessness qualify as a violent felony under 18 U.S.C. section 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) in light of Joh…
18-5278 Christopher Collings v. Missouri Missouri 2018-07-19 Denied IFP capital-punishment culpability deliberation due-process eighth-amendment eighth-amendment-reliability intoxication jury-instructions mens-rea mental-state Whether it violates th e Eighth Amendment to instruct a capital jury that they may not consider evidence of the defendant's intoxication at the time o…
18-5251 Sarjo Dambelly v. United States Second Circuit 2018-07-17 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure deliberate-avoidance global-tech intent jury-instructions knowledge-standard mens-rea second-circuit willful-blindness Whether, in light of Global —Tech, the Second Circuit errs by holding, contrary to at least six other circuits, that willful blindness in a criminal c…
18-5238 Hassanh Bey Wright, aka Hassanh Bay Wright v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-07-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP crime-of-violence criminal-history criminal-law culpable-negligence force-clause intent mens-rea residual-clause sentencing-guidelines supervised-release Whether a crime with a mens rea of culpable negligence meets the definition of a "crime of violence" under either the force clause or the residual cla…
18-5164 George Adrien Brooks v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-07-06 Denied IFP 18-usc-2422(b) attempted-inducement circuit-split criminal-law criminal-statute federal-criminal-law intent intent-requirement mens-rea minor minor-protection minors sexual-abuse sexual-activity sexual-inducement statutory-interpretation 18 U.S.C. § 2242(b) criminalizes, among other things, the attempted inducement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. The question presented by this…
18-5083 Rahman Fulton v. United States Third Circuit 2018-07-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924 18-usc-924c bank-robbery crime-of-violence criminal-procedure due-process extortion force-clause mathis-v-united-states mens-rea residual-clause statutory-interpretation Petitioner comes forth with Question base under Graham v. United States ; U.S., No. 16-6308, friend of the Court brief filed 10/28/16. To Be Held ThAb…
18-5036 Jerome Aristedes Martinez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2018-06-29 Denied IFP circuit-split criminal-law general-intent illegal-reentry immigration immigration-law mens-rea specific-intent statutory-interpretation supreme-court-precedent In the United States v. Resendiz-Ponce, 549 U.S. 102 (2007), the Supreme Court made it clear, in dicta, that attempted illegal reentry is a specific i…