sua-sponte
95 cases — ← All topics
| Case | Title | Lower Court | Docketed | Status | Flags | Tags | Question Presented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-820 | Comcast Cable Communications, LLC v. WhereverTV, Inc. | Federal Circuit | 2026-01-12 | Pending | Amici (1)Response Waived | appellate-procedure circuit-split jurisdictional-issue party-presentation sua-sponte waiver | Whether a court of appeals may override the principle of party presentation by deciding sua sponte a non jurisdictional issue that a party deliberatel… |
| 25-6484 | Donald N. S. Mortvedt v. Charles E. Clawson, III, et al. | Eighth Circuit | 2026-01-06 | Pending | IFP | due-process fourteenth-amendment parental-liberty pro-se section-1983 sua-sponte | 1. Whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment excludes equity from jurisdiction over deprivations of liberty, including parental liber… |
| 25A531 | John Koe, aka Nicholas Krudy v. University Hospitals Health System, Inc., et al. | Sixth Circuit | 2025-11-07 | Application | appellate-procedure jurisdictional-dismissal merits-determination party-presentation procedural-rule sua-sponte | Question not identified. | |
| 25A530 | John Koe, aka Nicholas Krudy v. University Hospitals Health System, Inc., et al. | Sixth Circuit | 2025-11-07 | Application | appellate-procedure due-process jurisdictional-rule merits-determination party-presentation sua-sponte | Question not identified. | |
| 25-5429 | Anthony Brian Walker v. United States | Tenth Circuit | 2025-08-21 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | affirmative-defense criminal-procedure jury-instructions self-defense sua-sponte substantial-evidence | 1. In a criminal prosecution, when an affirmative defense—such as imperfect self-defense—is supported by substantial evidence, does the trial court ha… |
| 25A30 | Humberto Andres Maldonado v. Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice | Fifth Circuit | 2025-07-08 | Application | certificate-of-appealability federal-district-court habeas-corpus procedural-bar statute-of-limitations sua-sponte | Question not identified. | |
| 24-1300 | Andrew John Blount v. Joan Michelle Blount | Texas | 2025-06-24 | Denied | community-property due-process evidentiary-burden fourteenth-amendment property-rights sua-sponte | 1. Whether a state appellate court violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause by sua sponte imposing an unargued, heightened evidentiary b… | |
| 24-1195 | In Re Symon Mandawala | 2025-05-22 | Denied | civil-procedure jurisdiction motion-to-dismiss rule-12(b)(6) service-of-process sua-sponte | Whether a district court itself can invoke a motion to dismiss sua sponte under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in a civil case … | ||
| 24-6976 | Domingo Agustin-Simon, aka Pedro Sanchez-Mendez v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2025-04-11 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | alien-smuggling arms-length-agreement downward-departure sentencing-guidelines sua-sponte u-s-c-3553 | 1. Is United States Sentencing Guidelines Section 2A4.1(b)(1) (ransom demand) applicable in the context of an arms-length agreement between an alien s… |
| 24-680 | Dennis G. Collins, et al. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company | Eighth Circuit | 2024-12-26 | Denied | appellate-procedure civil-procedure district-court rule-9b sua-sponte waiver | Whether a United States Court of Appeals can— sua sponte —affirm a district court's judgment on Rule 9(b) and other grounds that neither the parties n… | |
| 24-5301 | Derek J. DeGroot v. Wisconsin Department of Corrections, et al. | Seventh Circuit | 2024-08-12 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | equitable-exception federal-court jurisdictional-limitation mootness rluipa sua-sponte | Given that there are no equitable exceptions to jurisdictional limitations, and the doctrine of mootness includes a "capable of repetition yet evading… |
| 24-5160 | Duane Leo Ehmer, Darryl William Thorn, and Jake Ryan v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2024-07-29 | Denied | Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | criminal-procedure criminal-prosecution ex-parte jury-selection jury-trial petty-offenses presley-v-georgia sixth-amendment structural-error sua-sponte | (1) Whether the district court's sua sponte, ex parte, and case-specific excusal of trial jurors for cause constituted reversible structural error? (… |
| 23-1356 | Justin K. Holder v. Mark Duvall Thomas | Fourth Circuit | 2024-06-28 | Denied | civil-procedure civil-rights due-process federal-statute injunctive-relief pro-se standing sua-sponte subject-matter-jurisdiction | A. Did the District Court judge error in law, or abuse his discretion when he sua sponte dismissed Petitioner's pro se complaint for lack of subject m… | |
| 23A1156 | Rona J. Adeoye v. Clayton County DFCS Employees, et al. | Eleventh Circuit | 2024-06-25 | Presumed Complete | appellate-procedure court-of-appeals dismissal jurisdiction pro-se sua-sponte | Question not identified. | |
| 23-1253 | McLaughlin Freight Services, Inc. v. ContiTech USA, Inc. | Eighth Circuit | 2024-05-31 | Denied | civil-procedure claim-processing claim-processing-rules federal-rules-of-civil-procedure judgment judgment-amendment nutraceutical-corp-v-lambert remittitur rule-59 sua-sponte time-limitation | Can a district court disregard Rule 59's claim-processing rule by sua sponte remitting and amending a judgment more than nine months after Rule 59's t… | |
| 23A871 | Pushpa Shekar v. PHH Mortgage Group | Illinois | 2024-04-01 | Presumed Complete | federal-jurisdiction judicial-misconduct mortgage-servicing removal state-court sua-sponte | I. Whether Illinois Supreme court could endorse a Cook county state lower court abuses and could abridge/Infringe/encroach the Federal Jurisdiction o… | |
| 23-1057 | Paul Johnson v. Matthew Tepper | Texas | 2024-03-27 | Denied | Response Waived | appellate-procedure civil-rights due-process free-speech judicial-neutrality party-presentation pro-se pro-se-plaintiff sua-sponte sua-sponte-arguments supreme-court-review | Whether the United States Supreme Court will review the actions of a Texas Court of Appeals, which departed from its role as a neutral arbiter by enga… |
| 23A855 | Willie James Pye v. Tyrone Oliver, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Corrections, et al. | Eleventh Circuit | 2024-03-20 | Denied | due-process equal-protection preliminary-injunction res-judicata section-1983 sua-sponte | Whether a federal court may raise a procedural affirmative defense sua sponte in the absence of any special circumstances, and, if so, whether it may … | |
| 23-7041 | Willie James Pye v. Tyrone Oliver, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Corrections, et al. | Eleventh Circuit | 2024-03-20 | Denied | IFP | civil-rights due-process equal-protection preliminary-injunction procedural-defense res-judicata section-1983 stay-of-execution sua-sponte | Mr. Pye brought an action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983 and contemporaneously sought a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to restrain… |
| 23-1015 | Norman Seabrook v. United States | Second Circuit | 2024-03-15 | Denied | Response Waived | 28-usc-2255 habeas-corpus habeas-law ineffective-assistance judicial-recusal light-most-favorable notice-and-hearing procedural-due-process sixth-amendment sua-sponte sua-sponte-dismissal | 1. Did the District Court's sua sponte denial of Petitioner's habeas petition alleging ineffectiveness of trial counsel filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C.… |
| 23A700 | Cyrus Sanai v. Alex Villanueva | Ninth Circuit | 2024-01-30 | Presumed Complete | appellate-disentitlement district-court due-process habeas-corpus procedural-default sua-sponte | Did the District Court err and violate Vang v. Nevada, 329 F. 3d 1069 (9th Cir. 2003) and Day v. McDonough, 547 US 198, 209-11 (2006) when it sua spon… | |
| 23-6604 | Nicole Johnson v. Massachusetts Department of Children and Families | Massachusetts | 2024-01-29 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 7th-amendment best-interests child-custody due-process jury-trial massachusetts-rule-38 parental-rights sua-sponte termination termination-of-parental-rights | 1. Whether the petitioners right to due process and 7th amendment right and Massachusetts ruie 38 Jury Trial of Right was violated when petitioner fil… |
| 23A579 | Deonte Marques Curry v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2023-12-22 | Presumed Complete | appellate-review final-judgment plain-error preservation-of-error rule-52b sua-sponte | Does the exception to the contemporaneous-objection rule in Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b) apply to claimed errors arising from a district court sua sponte am… | |
| 23-6256 | Kenneth Ray Brabham v. Florida | Florida | 2023-12-14 | Denied | IFP | civil-rights constitutional-violation due-process judicial-discretion judicial-misconduct prosecutorial-misconduct structural-defect structural-error sua-sponte trial-procedure | Whether a trial judge, giving the appearance of partiality by taking sua sponte actions in favor of the state, violates structural due process? Is it… |
| 23-595 | Peter R. Hall v. Michael J. Geoffrey Fulton, et al. | Delaware | 2023-12-05 | Denied | Response Waived | civil-rights due-process foreign-corrupt-practices-act fraud fraudulent-concealment misrepresentation state-sponsored-fraud sua-sponte treaty-obligations | When a Delaware court has ruled that a Delaware company committed "a clear act of fraudulent concealment " on a foreign court and has also ruled there… |
| 23-6083 | Chalmer Detling, II, aka Chuck Detling v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2023-11-21 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | appellate-review due-process judicial-procedure notice notice-requirement opportunity-to-be-heard speedy-trial-act sua-sponte summary-reversal supervisory-power | Detling appealed the district court's denial of his Speedy Trial Act motion to dismiss, a three-judge panel rejected the Government's argument but the… |
| 23-536 | Kendall Merlo v. Ingrid Warren, Presiding Judge, Probate Court No. 2, Dallas County, Texas | Texas | 2023-11-20 | Denied | Response Waived | competency competency-hearing due-process estate-law guardian-ad-litem judicial-procedure notice pleadings probate-court sua-sponte | Does a state trial court violate due process by appointing a guardian ad litem for the adult beneficiary of an estate, who is presumed to be competent… |
| 23-5865 | Jason Dix v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2023-10-23 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-procedure appellate-review burden-of-proof constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process harmless-error separation-of-powers sua-sponte | I. May an appellate court, consistent with due process, relieve a government party of its burden to show that a favorable error is harmless, decide th… |
| 23-5651 | Harry J. Williby v. Sergey Brin, et al. | Ninth Circuit | 2023-09-26 | Dismissed | Relisted (2)IFP | 14th-amendment 28-U.S.C-455(a) district-court due-process judge judicial-ethics recusal section-455 sua-sponte | 1. Does a District Court Judge violate a litigant's right to Due Process, Under the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, Section I, when … |
| 23-223 | Charles J. Jenkins v. TriWest Healthcare Alliance, et al. | Fifth Circuit | 2023-09-08 | Denied | Response Waived | civil-rights court-procedure due-process federal-circuit federal-courts judicial-authority judicial-review rule-56 separation-of-powers stare-decisis sua-sponte | 1. Whether the triumvirate overstepped their authority when they decided (sua sponte) to invoke, incite, insurrect, or for the lack of a better desc… |
| 22-1235 | Brandon E. Ogbolu v. Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, et al. | Second Circuit | 2023-06-23 | Denied | Response Waived | civil-rights constitutional-duty disability-discrimination due-process emotional-distress felony-conduct pro-se public-interest standing sua-sponte | 1. Whether lower courts have a constitutional duty to sua sponte assess all unlawful conduct and harm to the public interest present in cases brough… |
| 22-1120 | Paula Parisi v. Peter C. Anderson, United States Trustee for Region 16 | Ninth Circuit | 2023-05-16 | Denied | Response Waived | 11-usc-chapter-11 28-usc-158 bankruptcy bankruptcy-appeal chapter-11-proceeding debtor-in-possession district-court-jurisdiction self-representation sua-sponte sua-sponte-designation united-states-trustee | In a case originating under 11 U.S.C. chapter 11, § 1101- 1193, does a U.S. district court sitting in its capacity under 28 U.S.C. § 158 (a) have disc… |
| 22-7540 | Harry Cole v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2023-05-12 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-review burden-of-proof criminal-procedure district-court due-process essential-element jurisdiction jurisdictional-concept sua-sponte venue | 1. Whether venue is only a jurisdictional concept rather than essential element of an offense that must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt; 2. Wheth… |
| 22-1105 | Carlo Giuseppe Civelli, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase Securities, L.L.C., et al. | Fifth Circuit | 2023-05-11 | Denied | Response Waived | appellate-procedure appellate-review civil-procedure fifth-circuit notice notice-requirement preservation sua-sponte summary-judgment trial-court | For decades preceding 2010, this Court and several circuit courts held it was improper for a trial court to sua sponte grant summary judgment, without… |
| 22-7454 | In Re Reginald Swinton | 2023-05-03 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-procedure case-law circuit-court discretionary-review due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mandate statutory-interpretation sua-sponte | Is the Circuit Court's order in deciding sua sponte to issue its Mandate denying relief without first having afforded petitioner prior notification an… | |
| 22-1058 | John L. Roseman, Sr. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. | Sixth Circuit | 2023-05-02 | Denied | Response Waived | 42-usc-1981 42-usc-1982 civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process judicial-procedure pro-se-pleadings standing sua-sponte | Whether motion-initiated "sua sponte " dismissal of courts below in this case was proper, and in keeping with the fairness standards required by this … |
| 22-970 | James H. Griffith, Jr., dba CJ's Sports Bar, et al. v. Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. | Sixth Circuit | 2023-04-07 | Denied | copyright-act copyright-infringement de-novo-review exclusive-licensing idea-of-work licensing-rights right-to-sue sua-sponte summary-judgment tangible-medium | I. Whether the plain language of the U.S. Copyright Act ("Act") authorizes the exclusive licensing of rights under the Act in an idea of a work of aut… | |
| 22-934 | Dale Sundby, Trustee v. Marquee Funding Group, Inc., et al. | Ninth Circuit | 2023-03-24 | Denied | civil-procedure court-of-appeal due-process judgment party-presentation precedential-ruling property-rights standing sua-sponte trustee-representation | This case concerns a revocable family trust represented by a non-lawyer trustee, which prevailed on the merits in the district court. Neither the dist… | |
| 22-900 | Ganiyu Ayinla Jaiyeola v. Robert Allen Brundage | Sixth Circuit | 2023-03-16 | Denied | Response Waived | civil-procedure diversity-jurisdiction due-process federal-courts federal-jurisdiction procedural-fairness standing sua-sponte subject-matter-jurisdiction | Whether a District Court can nullify an existing diversity jurisdiction by doing sua sponte conversion of one of Plaintiff's two witnesses into Plain… |
| 22-6665 | Orlando Cortez-Nieto and Jesus Cervantes-Aguilar v. United States | Tenth Circuit | 2023-01-31 | Denied | IFP | criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process judicial-discretion jury-instructions lesser-included-offenses post-trial-convictions sua-sponte | May a court sua sponte enter post-trial convictions on lesser-included offenses that the jury had no authority to return? |
| 22-6654 | Roland Cummings v. Maine | Maine | 2023-01-27 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | due-process fourteenth-amendment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel post-conviction-review prejudice sixth-amendment sua-sponte | Where a post-conviction review of a murder trial leading to a sentence of life imprisonment finds that there was ineffective assistance of counsel but… |
| 22-6593 | Steven C. Heiser v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, et al. | Eleventh Circuit | 2023-01-23 | Denied | Response RequestedRelisted (2)IFP | abuse-of-discretion certificate-of-appealability certiorari-jurisdiction due-process habeas-corpus limitations-defense party-presentation statute-of-limitations sua-sponte | Mr. Heiser humbly asks this Honorable Court to invoke its judicial discretion and consider the following questions: 1. THIS COURT SHOULD EXERCISE ITS… |
| 22-6122 | Danny Wayne Alcoser v. Kathryne Ford, et al. | Fifth Circuit | 2022-11-21 | Denied | Relisted (2)IFP | civil-procedure civil-rights due-process federal-rules-of-civil-procedure fifth-circuit judicial-discretion rule-15 standing sua-sponte supervisory-power | For this court to determine if the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has entered a decision in conflict with the decision of the United Sta… |
| 22-5790 | David Delva v. United States | Second Circuit | 2022-10-07 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-counsel due-process fifth-amendment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel precedent section-2255 sua-sponte warrantless-seizure | Did the Court of Appeals err in denying Petitioner's COA claim; whether a reasonable jurist would debate if appellate counsel was ineffective for fail… |
| 22-5773 | Roland Ma v. Gallery Belltown Condo Association | Washington | 2022-10-05 | Denied | IFP | civil-procedure court-order due-process judicial-procedure notice-and-opportunity-to-object notice-requirement standing sua-sponte vexatious-litigant | (1) Whether both the State's supreme court and the State's trial court erred by entering a sua sponte vexatious litigant order, without notice and an… |
| 22-5734 | Timothy W. Saunders v. Terry Raybon, Warden | Eleventh Circuit | 2022-10-03 | Denied | Relisted (3)IFP | appellate-procedure certificate-of-appealability circuit-split due-process gatekeeping-function habeas-corpus statutory-interpretation sua-sponte | When a petitioner files a proper application for a certificate of appealability, a single judge grants a defective certificate without objection from … |
| 22-5556 | Mehmet Ali Whicker v. Washington | Washington | 2022-09-12 | Denied | IFP | arbitrary-action arbitrary-and-capricious civil-procedure constitutional-rights due-process extraordinary-circumstances jury-instructions legal-procedure standing state-court sua-sponte | Should fay Codr-J- bi fa/o^ocd h facets fa fa perceived fap/faAbno?do a/A -0 AmiVCS jury (juJesA'am b/ fa <u ^j/efaon cj.J (jd) h ie kit5 rich! Ac d… |
| 21-8175 | Adrian Castro v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2022-06-17 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appellate-procedure certificate-of-appealability court-of-appeals due-process government-objection habeas-corpus judicial-discretion procedural-jurisdiction sua-sponte sua-sponte-review | Where the Court of Appeals itself grants a Certificate of Appealability and specifies the issue to be decided, the parties fully brief the merits, and… |
| 21-8022 | William Dew v. S. Columbia Terrace, LLC, et al. | Third Circuit | 2022-06-01 | Denied | Relisted (2)IFP | circuit-split civil-procedure civil-rights discrimination due-process factual-deficiencies motion-to-dismiss neitzke-v-williams pleadings pro-se sua-sponte | 1. Whether the district court may dismiss a non-prisoner pro se complaint sua sponte basis of factual deficiencies in complaint or must wait until def… |
| 21-1468 | Erickson Meko Campbell v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2022-05-23 | Denied | appellate-procedure appellate-review circuit-court civil-procedure constitutional-law due-process judicial-discretion party-presentation sineneng-smith standing sua-sponte | Whether a court of appeals violates the principle of party presentation announced in United States v. Sineneng-Smith, 140 S. Ct. 1575 (2020), by sua s… | |
| 21-1383 | Alejandro Asbun v. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services | North Carolina | 2022-04-26 | Denied | Response Waived | due-process equal-protection fourteenth-amendment government-activities property-interest state-courts state-created-property sua-sponte whistleblower-protection whistleblower-protections | Whether the U.S. Const, amend. XIV, § 1 "Due Process Clause," affords litigants the right to due process of law and the equal protection of the laws, … |
| 21-1329 | Estate of Geraldine F. Jennings, et al. v. Gulfshore Private Home Care, LLC | Eleventh Circuit | 2022-04-05 | Denied | Response Waived | appellate-jurisdiction civil-procedure due-process final-judgment notice notice-requirement sua-sponte sua-sponte-vacatur vacatur | In this case, the district court entered an order dismissing the case upon summary judgment and directed the clerk to enter judgment. The clerk did so… |
| 21-1135 | Goyko Gustav Kuburovich v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2022-02-16 | Denied | Response Waived | bankruptcy bankruptcy-fraud criminal-procedure due-process false-statements federal-prosecution fraud jury-instructions jury-unanimity statutory-interpretation sua-sponte | Where a criminal defendant is prosecuted in federal court for a single count of bankruptcy fraud relying on multiple alleged false statements, each wi… |
| 21-1119 | Paul Francis v. John O. Desmond, United States Trustee | First Circuit | 2022-02-11 | Denied | Response Waived | 11-usc-521 11-usc-727 appellate-review bankruptcy-court bankruptcy-procedure court-of-appeals discharge-denial due-process judicial-discretion statutory-interpretation sua-sponte | Whether the First Circuit Court of Appeals committed error when affirming judgment from the Bankruptcy Court Appellate Panel refusing to reverse the B… |
| 21-1015 | Angela Cao v. BSI Financial Services, Incorporated, et al. | Fifth Circuit | 2022-01-19 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2) | civil-procedure due-process equal-protection issue-preclusion judicial-power separation-of-powers sua-sponte ultra-vires | The Fifth Circuit vastly departed from the accepted and usual course of judicial proceedings and sanctioned the same by the lower court. Both the lowe… |
| 21-6072 | Patsy N. Sakuma v. Association of Apartment Owners of the Tropics of Waikele, et al. | Ninth Circuit | 2021-10-26 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | civil-procedure civil-rights clause 2 for obstruction-of-justice due-process federal-jurisdiction standing judicial-foreclosure jurisdictional-issue pro-se section-1343 section-1985 sua-sponte | Whether a putative claim under 42 U.S.C. §1985(2), clause 2 for obstruction of justice in a state proceeding, like state judicial foreclosure action, … |
| 21-531 | Jerome D. Lee, Stephen E. Brown-Bennett, and Taylor Lee & Associates LLC v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2021-10-12 | Denied | Response Waived | available-funds civil-procedure cja-vouchers contempt contract-authority due-process fee-inquiry judicial-discretion reimbursement standing statutory-interpretation sua-sponte | I. DID THE LOWER COURT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO, SUA SPONTE, SET ASIDE THE PETITIONERS' CONTRACTS, AND CONDUCT AN FEE INQUIRY INTO WHETHER OR NOT FUNDS W… |
| 21-449 | Bilal Abdul Kareem v. William J. Burns, Director, Central Intelligence Agency, et al. | District of Columbia | 2021-09-23 | Denied | Response Waived | civil-rights d-c-circuit due-process government-media government-transparency judicial-notice online-publication standing sua-sponte technology | WHETHER THE D.C. CIRCUIT'S DECISION TO DISMISS THE CASE BASED ON DISPUTED FACTS NOTICED SUA SPONTE AND WITHOUT DUE PROCESS WAS IMPROPER. WHETHER THE … |
| 21-438 | Olaf Sööt Design, LLC v. Daktronics, Inc., et al. | Federal Circuit | 2021-09-22 | Denied | CVSGAmici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) | appellate-review claim-construction infringement jury-trial jury-verdict patent patent-law seventh-amendment sua-sponte | Whether the Seventh Amendment allows the Federal Circuit to reverse a jury verdict based on a sua sponte new claim construction of a term the district… |
| 20-7671 | Ronald E. Johnson v. Derek Schmidt, Attorney General of Kansas, et al. | Tenth Circuit | 2021-04-06 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-review criminal-procedure due-process kansas-supreme-court mandatory-minimums mandatory-sentencing sentencing sentencing-modification sixth-amendment statutory-interpretation sua-sponte | Was Astorga v. Kansas remanded back to the Kansas Supreme Court for the purpose of correcting with the Mandatory Sentence modification of Hard 40/50 p… |
| 20-7480 | Mickey Thomas v. Dexter Payne, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction | Eighth Circuit | 2021-03-17 | Denied | Relisted (2)IFP | appellate-procedure day-v-mcdonough federal-habeas habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel martinez-v-ryan procedural-default sua-sponte wood-v-milyard | The district court vacated Petitioner's death sentence because his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. On appeal, Respondent contested only… |
| 20-6804 | Stephen Cometa v. United States | Eleventh Circuit | 2021-01-08 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | bona-fide-doubt competency competency-hearing due-process eleventh-circuit irrational-behavior medical-opinions pate-v-robinson sua-sponte trial-competence | This petition presents the legal question in terms of what is minimally required to trigger a trial court's obligation to conduct a competency hearing… |
| 20-694 | Eagle Cove Camp & Conference Center, Inc., et al. v. Town of Woodboro, Wisconsin, et al. | Wisconsin | 2020-11-19 | Denied | Response Waived | due-process equal-protection federal-law judicial-review notice procedural-due-process property property-rights religious-exercise sanctions sua-sponte sua-sponte-analysis | 1) Did the Wisconsin Court of Appeals Deprive and Did the Wisconsin Supreme Court's Refusal to Accept the Case for Review Permit the Deprivation of Pe… |
| 20-516 | D'Ann S. McCoy v. Boureima Ouedraogo | Pennsylvania | 2020-10-20 | Denied | civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process ex-parte ex-parte-communication family-court judicial-disqualification judicial-jurisdiction jurisdiction sua-sponte | 1. Has the Pennsylvania Court System violated the constitutional rights of the Appellant, D'Ann McCoy, through communication ex-parte in a matter wit… | |
| 20-5917 | Eric Malmstrom v. United States | First Circuit | 2020-10-06 | Denied | Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | civil-procedure competency criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process embassy-communication judicial-discretion mental-competency mental-disease mental-disease-or-defect standing sua-sponte | Whether the district court abused its discretion when it failed to sua sponte order a competency evaluation. The facts of Petitioner's crime, standing… |
| 20-431 | John L. Corrigan, Sr. v. Grant County, Washington, et al. | Washington | 2020-10-05 | Denied | Response Waived | appellate-procedure appellate-review civil-procedure civil-rights due-process fifth-amendment motion-to-dismiss standing sua-sponte summary-judgment | Trial court granted stay of discovery for Motion to Dismiss only - stay not available for Summary Judgment. Motion to Dismiss was granted without conv… |
| 20-405 | City of Miami Gardens, Florida v. Wells Fargo & Co., et al. | Eleventh Circuit | 2020-09-29 | Denied | Amici (2) | alabama-legislative-black-caucus article-three circuit-conflict civil-rights discovery due-process standing sua-sponte summary-judgment | Whether, by raising standing sua sponte at oral argument in an appeal concerning a partial summary judgment decision focused solely on the statute of … |
| 20-404 | In Re John Masiz | 2020-09-28 | Denied | 5th-amendment article-ii article-iii civil-rights consent-decree due-process fifth-amendment securities-law sua-sponte | This matter concerns the constitutional limits on the authority of the federal court to exercise, sua sponte, in the absence of a case or controversy … | ||
| 20-5826 | Chris Anthony George v. Raymond Madden, Warden | Ninth Circuit | 2020-09-28 | Denied | IFP | appellate-procedure civil-rights due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel party-presentation plea-bargaining pro-se pro-se-petition sua-sponte | 1. In United States v. Sineneng-Smith, 140 S. Ct. 1575, 1578 (2020), this Court held that the Ninth Circuit "departed so drastically from the principl… |
| 20-208 | Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. Ethan Volungis, et al. | Ninth Circuit | 2020-08-21 | Denied | Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) | amendment civil-procedure district-court federal-rules-of-civil-procedure leave-to-amend motion-to-dismiss represented-plaintiff rule-15 sua-sponte | When Liberty Mutual moved to dismiss Ethan Volungis's complaint alleging bad-faith handling of an insurance claim, Volungis and his counsel chose not … |
| 20-5388 | Michael J. Buck v. Texas | Texas | 2020-08-18 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | adversarial-process appeal appeal-waiver appellate-procedure constitutional-rights due-process inherent-powers sua-sponte sua-sponte-dismissal waiver | 1. Does due process require courts to "treat at least some claims as unwaiveable" on appeal? See Garza, 139 S. Ct. at 145. 2. Does due process guaran… |
| 20-147 | Timothy B. Brown v. U.S. Bank National Association, et al. | Eleventh Circuit | 2020-08-13 | Denied | adversary-process civil-procedure district-court due-process magistrate magistrate-referral pro-se-litigant res-judicata sua-sponte | Does the Supreme Court's Ruling in Arizona v. California, 530 U.S. 392 (2000) empower a District Judge to Raise the issue of res judicata sua sponte i… | |
| 20-5110 | Gabriel Cardona-Ramirez v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2020-07-21 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | certificate-of-appealability circuit-conflict collateral-appeal-waiver district-court due-process plea-agreement section-2255 standing sua-sponte | CIRCUIT CONFLICT(split)rWHETHER a district court in a Section 2255 proceeding has the authority to raise a collateral-appeal waiver defense sua sponte… |
| 20-50 | Monica Voss v. Gregory G. Goode | Fifth Circuit | 2020-07-21 | Denied | 4th-amendment appellate-review civil-procedure civil-rights clearly-established-right due-process fourth-amendment qualified-immunity section-1983 standing sua-sponte | 1. Whether an appellate court may, sua sponte, impute the actions of a third party to a § 1983 claimant as the sole basis for extending qualified immu… | |
| 19-8882 | George Donald Hatt, Jr. v. Washington | Washington | 2020-07-02 | Denied | IFP | burden-of-proof due-process first-aggressor jury-instruction self-defense sua-sponte substantial-rights sufficiency-of-evidence | Did the First Aggressor Jury Instruction, issued sua sponte, violate due process by relieving the state of its burden to disprove self-defense? 2. Do… |
| 19-1291 | Charles Hamner v. Danny Burls, Warden, et al. | Eighth Circuit | 2020-05-14 | Denied | Amici (7) | affirmative-defense circuit-split civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-law constitutional-prong due-process federal-appellate-courts qualified-immunity standing state-actors sua-sponte | "Since qualified immunity is a defense, the burden of pleading it rests with the defendant." Gomez v. Toledo, 446 U.S. 635, 640 (1980). Nonetheless, t… |
| 19-888 | Eric A. Longmire v. Warshaw Burstein Cohen Schlesinger & Kuh, LLP | New York | 2020-01-16 | Denied | appellate-review civil-procedure due-process employment-discrimination legal-malpractice motion-to-appeal prima-facie procedural-due-process standing sua-sponte | Whether the State Appellate Division wrongfully denied Petitioner's Motion for Leave to Appeal when sua sponte and without notice to Petitioner, and w… | |
| 19-5846 | Joshua Eric Townley v. Texas | Texas | 2019-09-06 | Denied | IFP | appellate-procedure appellate-review constitutional-law constitutional-principles criminal-procedure double-jeopardy due-process judicial-discretion new-trial sua-sponte supremacy-clause trial-court trial-procedure | Whether a trial judge violates the Supremacy and Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States Constitution once he grants an Order on motion for New T… |
| 18-9743 | Hollins Tizeno v. Gerald Janda, Warden | Ninth Circuit | 2019-06-20 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | civil-procedure district-court due-process habeas-corpus judicial-discretion legal-procedure procedural-default standing sua-sponte waiver | Whether a district court may sua sponte raise a waived procedural default defense and, if so, under what circumstances is it appropriate to do so. |
| 18-1544 | Hallmark Care Services, Inc., et al. v. Superior Court of Washington, Spokane County | Washington | 2019-06-14 | Denied | Response Waived | appellate-review civil-rights court-appointed-guardian due-process ex-parte fourteenth-amendment guardianship predeprivation-rights professional-guardians property-interest property-rights state-action sua-sponte | The Superior Court of Washington for Spokane County, initiated, sua sponte, and selfprosecuted an action against the Petitioners, who are professional… |
| 18A1307 | James Destry Hamm v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division | Fifth Circuit | 2019-06-13 | Presumed Complete | criminal-conviction due-process equal-protection jury-instructions stalking-statute sua-sponte | Question not identified. | |
| 18-9611 | Nicholas D. Weir v. United States, et al. | Second Circuit | 2019-06-11 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | abuse-of-discretion appellate-review civil-procedure de-novo-analysis de-novo-review factual-allegation frivolous frivolous-claim frivolous-claims judicial-discretion legal-standard standing sua-sponte sua-sponte-dismissal | How does the lower courts rigorously determine if a factual allegation is baseless or frivolous when there is no argument in fact or law to dispute th… |
| 18-9222 | Michael Owen Harriot v. Robert Waizenhofer, et al. | Fourth Circuit | 2019-05-10 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 28-usc-1291 civil-procedure court-of-appeals district-court due-process federal-rules-of-civil-procedure judicial-procedure mclaughlin-violation notice-and-opportunity standing statute-of-limitations sua-sponte | This case presents two issues: Whether the Court of Appeals exceeded its authority, on its own initiative to affirm a judgment as time barred, once th… |
| 18-8363 | Joshua G. Stegemann v. United States | Second Circuit | 2019-03-11 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 28-usc-1915 appellate-procedure circuit-court criminal-appeal dismissal federal-rules greenlaw-v-united-states gvr in-forma-pauperis neitzke-v-williams party-presentation-rule sua-sponte sua-sponte-dismissal | May the Second Circuit dismiss a criminal appeal sua sponte under Neitzke v. Williams and 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (e) without briefing by any party and witho… |
| 18-8137 | Tanya Steele v. John Pedro, Jr., et al. | First Circuit | 2019-02-26 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | anti-harassment civil-rights due-process fair-housing-act jurisdiction sovereign-immunity standing sua-sponte | U.S. District Court Judge Mark Mastroianni removed John Pedro Junior's default judgment with a sua sponte order. A sua sponte order is a decision made… |
| 18-7951 | Cornell Winfrei McClure v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2019-02-13 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 2255-motion bench-trial due-process impartiality ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-recusal sua-sponte waiver-of-jury-trial | 1. Should a judge recuse ones self from reviewing a motion that is challeging their rulings made during a bench trial? 2. Is it ineffective assistanc… |
| 18-7862 | Vincent Beatty, aka Jamaal Beatty, aka Vincent Daward Beatty, aka Mozzi v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2019-02-08 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | abuse-of-discretion advisory-guidelines criminal-history criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing felon-in-possession reasonableness reasonableness-review sentencing-guidelines sentencing-variance sua-sponte upward-variance | Whether a sua sponte upward variance sentence is reasonable where the advisory Guideline range accurately reflected the defendant's conduct and prior … |
| 18-6415 | Amalya Cherniavsky, aka Amalya Surenovna Yegiyan v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2018-10-25 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | circuit-split criminal-procedure district-court due-process jury-instruction jury-instructions sentencing standard-of-review sua-sponte sufficiency-of-evidence theory-of-defense trial-procedure | Under what circumstances must a district court sua sponte instruct the jury on a theory of defense presented and relied upon at trial where the theory… |
| 18-520 | WeConnect, Incorporated v. Brooks Goplin | Seventh Circuit | 2018-10-19 | Denied | appellate-review due-process federal-rules-of-evidence judicial-notice standing sua-sponte unauthenticated-website website-authentication | Whether Federal Rules of Evidence 201, 901, and 902 and principles of due process forbid a district court to, sua sponte, take judicial notice of info… | |
| 18-6230 | Harvey L. Shoate v. Jason Lewis, Warden | Eighth Circuit | 2018-10-05 | Denied | Relisted (2)IFP | ineffective-assistance-of-counsel plain-error plea-agreement post-conviction post-conviction-relief sentencing sua-sponte | Question not identified. |
| 18-5695 | Robert Wayne Annabel, II v. Michigan Department of Corrections, et al. | Sixth Circuit | 2018-08-22 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | ada amendment-opportunity civil-procedure civil-rights conspiracy deliberate-indifference due-process plra plra-dismissal prisoner-litigation prisoner-rights rehabilitation-act res-judicata retaliation sua-sponte | I. "The Sixth Circuit is alone in its PLRA interpretation that a sua sponte dismissal for failure to state a claim at screening no longer affords a "f… |
| 18-5498 | Willie Beasley Curtis v. Michigan | Michigan | 2018-08-07 | Denied | IFP | 14th-amendment civil-rights constitutional-rights direct-appeal due-process ex-post-facto habeas-corpus habitual-offender plea-bargain plea-bargain-standards retroactive-sentencing standing sua-sponte unprecedented-error | Question # 1. MY CLAIM OF ERROR IS UNPRECEDENTED IN ANY U.S. COURT TO DATE. IS IT NOT THE SUPREME COURT'S DUTY TO CONSIDER UNPRECEDENTED ERRORS THAT A… |
| 18-5424 | Patsy N. Sakuma v. Association of Apartment Owners of the Tropics of Waikele, et al. | Ninth Circuit | 2018-08-01 | Denied | Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP | 42-usc-1983 42-usc-1985 circuit-split civil-procedure civil-rights civil-rights-claim due-process hypothetical-jurisdiction jurisdictional-waiver merits-question rooker-feldman rooker-feldman-doctrine standing sua-sponte waiver | Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit properly applied waiver on appeal as a new exception to bypass the Rooker-Feldman jur… |
| 18-68 | Marie Conforto v. Richard V. Spencer, Secretary of the Navy, et al. | Ninth Circuit | 2018-07-12 | Denied | Response Waived | appeals-court appellate-procedure civil-procedure due-process federal-government judicial-discretion notice procedural-fairness standing sua-sponte | 1. Whether an appeals court deciding a case sua sponte, without hearing or any other chance for the Appellant to respond, is a violation of due proces… |
| 25A439 | William P. DeBoskey v. Goshen Mortgage, as Separate Trustee for GDBT 1 Trust 2011-1, et al. | Eleventh Circuit | Presumed Complete | 28-usc-1447 diversity-jurisdiction federal-rules remand removal sua-sponte | Whether due process and controlling circuit precedent require a district court to permit jurisdictional discovery before remanding a removed case when… |