Whether a district court's determination of a defendant's prior felony conviction status is a question of law to be decided by the court, not submitted to the jury

No question identified. : instruction. In a published opinion, the Fourth Circuit reversed the District Court’s judgment of acquittal of Mr. Fulton and its conditional grant of a new trial, remanding the case for sentencing. At trial, the District Court believed that the jury was tasked with determining whether Mr. Fulton’s prior conviction was for a crime punishable by more than one year. Because of this, it never gave the Government’s requested jury instruction that, as a matter of law, the crime with which Mr. Fulton was convicted “is a felony .. . punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” The Government appealed, arguing that the District Court was bound to decide the issue as a matter of law, but never challenged the District Court’s failure to give its requested jury instruction. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the question of felony status was a legal one and should have been determined—in the affirmative—by the District Court. And it also rejected the District Court’s conditional grant of a new trial. In addition to this petition, the undersigned is currently drafting petitions for certiorari in United States v. Sandoval Rodriguez, Sup. Ct. No. 25A8 and United States v. Sandoval Rodriguez, Sup. Ct. No. 25A18. She is also drafting opening briefs and joint appendices in United States v. Gibbs, Fourth Cir. No. 24-4150; United States v. Morales, Fourth Cir. No. 25-4258; United States v. Ricard, Fourth Cir. No. 25-6573; United States v. Peters, Fourth Cir. No. 24-6704; United States v. Daniels, Fourth Cir. No. 24-4080; and United States v. Lynch, Fourth Cir. No. 254174. The undersigned requests this extension of time to permit her to research the relevant legal and factual issues and to prepare a petition that fully addresses the important questions raised by the proceedings below. The undersigned has communicated with the government’s counsel, Katherine Simpson Englander, who states that the government does not oppose the requested extension. For these reasons, Mr. Fulton respectfully requests that an order be entered extending the time to petition for certiorari up to and including October 3, 2025. This the 24th day of July, 2025. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Jaclyn L. Tarlton JACLYN L. TARLTON ASSISTANT FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA 150 Fayetteville St., Suite 450 Raleigh, N.C. 27601 (919) 856-4236 Counsel for Petitioner