No. 25-727

Douglas M. Folts v. United States

Lower Court: Armed Forces
Docketed: 2025-12-19
Status: Pending
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: constitutional-rights first-amendment free-speech military-law obscenity-standard servicemembers
Key Terms:
FirstAmendment Privacy
Latest Conference: 2026-02-20
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the military's obscenity standard is unconstitutional under Parker v. Levy and Miller v. California

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

The free speech guarantee of the First Amendment applies to servicemembers . This guarantee is limited by military law and tradition. Part of that law and tradition is that military courts use this Court’s free speech jurisprudence when deciding the scope of the free speech guarantee for servicemembers . Despite this, military courts continue to rely on an outdated, abrogated obscenity standard that this Court has rejected. The question presented is: Whether the military’s obscenity standard is unconstitutional under Parker v. Levy and Miller v. California.

Docket Entries

2026-01-14
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
2026-01-12
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2025-12-17
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 20, 2026)
2025-10-15
Application (25A426) as to Mark A. Pulley granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until December 19, 2025.
2025-10-07
Application (25A426) as to Mark A. Pulley to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from October 20, 2025 to December 19, 2025, submitted to The Chief Justice.

Attorneys

Douglas Folts, et al.
Trevor Nicholas WardU.S. Air Force, Appellate Defense Division, Petitioner
Trevor Nicholas WardU.S. Air Force, Appellate Defense Division, Petitioner
Trevor Nicholas WardU.S. Air Force, Appellate Defense Division, Petitioner
United States
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent