No. 21-8268

Roger Acosta v. United States

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2022-06-29
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP Experienced Counsel
Tags: circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure federal-jurisdiction federal-prosecution indictment indictment-defect mens-rea rehaif-standard structural-error
Key Terms:
FifthAmendment CriminalProcedure HabeasCorpus Jurisdiction
Latest Conference: 2022-09-28
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether a federal prosecution is structural error when a grand jury indicts a defendant for conduct that is not a federal offense?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

Questions Presented Petitioners were each convicted of possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. After their convictions became final, this Court held in Rehaif v. United States the statutes underlying Petitioners’ convictions include a new mens rea element requiring defendants to know they belonged to the category of persons barred from possessing a firearm at the time of the possession, emphasizing the element’s importance in separating innocent gun possession from criminal conduct. 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019). Yet Petitioners’ indictments failed to allege this crucial element. 1. Ina federal prosecution, it is structural error for a grand jury to indict a defendant for conduct that is not a federal offense? 2. Should this Court grant review to resolve a Circuit split concerning the proper interpretation of this Court’s precedent on defective indictments and the limited jurisdiction of federal courts? i

Docket Entries

2022-10-03
Petition DENIED.
2022-07-14
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2022.
2022-07-06
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2022-06-24

Attorneys

Roger Acosta, et al.
Amy B. ClearyFederal Public Defender, District of Nevada, Petitioner
Amy B. ClearyFederal Public Defender, District of Nevada, Petitioner
United States
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent