arbitrary-and-capricious

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Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25A104 Edward J. Zakrzewski, II v. Florida Florida 2025-07-24 Denied arbitrary-and-capricious cruel-and-unusual-punishment death-penalty eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment jury-override Whether the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit executing a defendant whose death sentences were imposed by bare majority jury votes and judicia…
24A978 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. New Jersey Conservation Foundation, et al. District of Columbia 2025-04-11 Presumed Complete arbitrary-and-capricious environmental-impact-statement greenhouse-gas-emissions natural-gas-act nepa public-convenience-and-necessity Whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must make a case-specific determination regarding the significance of greenhouse-gas emissions under …
24-52 Gunes Biray v. Securities and Exchange Commission District of Columbia 2024-07-17 Denied Response Waived administrative-law administrative-procedure agency-deference agency-discretion appellate-review arbitrary-and-capricious due-process sec-enforcement securities-law securities-regulation whistleblower-protection Does the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) possess absolute immunity from appellate scrutiny when it arbitrarily or capriciously …
23-1315 Maxwell Jones v. United States Federal Circuit 2024-06-17 Denied Response Waived administrative-procedure arbitrary-and-capricious arbitrary-capricious conflict-of-interest dfas-denial forged-documents judicial-immunity military-pay military-records records-correction wrongful-discharge Whether the military pay and records correction case involves issues of wrongful discharge, forged documents, and conflict of interest
23-1125 Logic Technology Development LLC v. Food and Drug Administration Third Circuit 2024-04-17 Denied Relisted (3) administrative-law agency-action arbitrary-and-capricious electronic-nicotine-delivery-system electronic-nicotine-delivery-systems fda-regulation menthol-flavoring premarket-tobacco-application premarket-tobacco-product-application retroactive-rulemaking retroactive-standard Whether the FDA's creation of a new, heightened standard for evaluating already-pending PMTAs for certain ENDS products was arbitrary and capricious
23-7118 Danilo Augusto Feliciano, aka Danil Ezekiel Faust v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General District of Columbia 2024-04-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law agency-discretion arbitrary-and-capricious civil-procedure constitutional-analysis due-process judicial-review legal-interpretation precedent-setting statutory-construction Can an agency decision not to enforce a law despite notification of a longstanding, persistent violation of the law that has been publicly admitted to…
23-1038 Food and Drug Administration v. Wages and White Lion Investments, L.L.C., dba Triton Distribution, et al. Fifth Circuit 2024-03-19 Judgment Issued Amici (17)Relisted (2) administrative-law agency-decision agency-deference arbitrary-and-capricious e-cigarettes fda-regulation interstate-commerce public-health tobacco-control tobacco-regulation Whether the court of appeals erred in setting aside FDA's denial orders as arbitrary and capricious
23-871 Lotus Vaping Technologies, LLC v. Food and Drug Administration Ninth Circuit 2024-02-13 Denied Amici (2)Relisted (4) administrative-procedure-act arbitrary-and-capricious circuit-split comparative-efficacy electronic-nicotine-delivery-systems fair-warning flavored-products food-and-drug-administration marketing-applications Whether FDA's denial of Petitioner's marketing applications for flavored ENDS was arbitrary and capricious
23-799 Magellan Technology, Inc. v. Food and Drug Administration Second Circuit 2024-01-24 Denied Amici (1)Relisted (4) administrative-procedure-act agency-rulemaking arbitrary-and-capricious circuit-split comparative-efficacy electronic-nicotine-delivery-systems ends-products fda-regulation marketing-authorization reliance-interests youth-access Whether FDA's denial of Petitioner's marketing applications for flavored ENDS was arbitrary and capricious
23-667 Blair Coleman v. Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force Fourth Circuit 2023-12-20 Denied Response Waived 10-usc-1210 administrative-law arbitrary-and-capricious disability-rating medical-examination military-procedure physical-disability-board-of-review temporary-disability-retired-list veterans-benefits veterans-disability Whether a veteran is entitled to a medical examination prior to removal from the Temporary Disability Retired List and reduction of disability rating
23A421 Magellan Technology, Inc. v. Food and Drug Administration Second Circuit 2023-11-15 Presumed Complete administrative-law arbitrary-and-capricious circuit-split evidentiary-standards fair-notice fda-regulation Whether the FDA's marketing denial order for electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products was arbitrary and capricious by changing evidentiary …
22-1112 Avail Vapor, LLC, et al. v. Food and Drug Administration Fourth Circuit 2023-05-15 Denied Amici (3)Relisted (2) administrative-law administrative-procedure-act arbitrary-and-capricious evidence-standard evidentiary-standard fda fda-regulation marketing-authorization premarket-applications tobacco-product-regulation tobacco-products Whether FDA's marketing denial order was arbitrary and capricious
22-762 Robert Kreb v. Department of Labor Ninth Circuit 2023-02-13 Denied Response Waived administrative-law administrative-procedure agency-discretion agency-review arbitrary-and-capricious employee-protection employee-protection-rights evidentiary-burden standard-of-review statutory-interpretation What is the appropriate standard of review when an agency administrative law judge abuses their discretion, is arbitrary and capricious or otherwise u…
22-565 USP Holdings, Inc., et al. v. United States, et al. Federal Circuit 2022-12-20 Denied administrative-procedure-act agency-action arbitrary-and-capricious judicial-review national-security section-232 tariff-authority trade-expansion-act Did the Federal Circuit err in holding that the Secretary's 'final agency action' which determined that imports of steel 'threaten to impair the natio…
22-5978 Richard R. Crawford v. United States Sixth Circuit 2022-11-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP arbitrary-and-capricious arbitrary-capricious certificate-of-appealability constitutional-rights criminal-procedure detention-versus-arrest due-process evidentiary-hearing sworn-testimony Whether a determination by the lower courts that the officers only detained the petitioner, and not arrested him, which finding was in direct conflict…
22-351 Charles Simon v. Department of Justice, et al. Seventh Circuit 2022-10-14 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2) administrative-procedure administrative-procedure-act arbitrary-and-capricious arbitrary-capricious civil-rights due-process inmate-compensation judicial-review standing Whether the Lower Courts' unconstitutional procedural departure conflicts with the prerequisite demand pursuant several holding of United States Appea…
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 Whether the Court violated due process by reaching a sua sponte answer to a question not presented
21-7809 Urshawn Eric Miller v. Tennessee Tennessee 2022-05-09 Denied IFP arbitrary-and-capricious arbitrary-capricious capital-punishment comparative-proportionality-review death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment proportionality-review sentencing-review Whether Tennessee's comparative proportionality review satisfies the Eighth Amendment
21-1041 Michael J. P. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, et al. Fifth Circuit 2022-01-26 Denied Response Waived arbitrary-and-capricious benefit-eligibility erisa firestone-v-bruch judicial-review metro-life-v-glenn plan-administrator plan-administrator-discretion standard-of-review substantial-evidence Whether the Supreme Court's dicta in Firestone Tire and Rubber Co v. Bruch and the Supreme Court's ruling in Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. Glenn render it i…
21-915 Hugh McKinney v. Christine Wormuth, Secretary of the Army District of Columbia 2021-12-21 Denied Response Waived administrative-procedure-act agency-action arbitrary-and-capricious civilian-board deference judicial-review military-records standard-of-review Whether a civilian board's administrative decisions concerning the correction of military records pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1552(a)(1) are properly revi…
21-6660 Joshua Vance Jones v. Emily Ridder, et al. Sixth Circuit 2021-12-20 Denied IFP appellate-review arbitrary-and-capricious civil-procedure constitutional-rights court-procedure due-process legal-remedy procedural-due-process standing summary-judgment untimely-filing Did the Appellate Court err when acting in direct violation of the facts of the case, the Rules of the Court, and the codified laws of the United Stat…
21-589 Said Rum v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2021-10-22 Denied Response Waived administrative-law agency-action agency-review arbitrary-and-capricious due-process factfinding-procedures fbar-penalties reporting-requirements standard-of-review willfulness Are courts to apply de novo review of agency actions when the inadequacy of the factfinding procedures is due to a procedural due-process violation
20-1785 Ronald W. Ogle, et al. v. Sevier County Regional Planning Commission, et al. Sixth Circuit 2021-06-23 Denied Response Waived arbitrary-and-capricious board-of-regents-v-roth due-process entitlement-test fourteenth-amendment land-development property-interest regional-planning substantive-due-process Whether initial approval in a land development scheme creates a legitimate claim of entitlement for the purpose of establishing a property interest th…
20-1535 Kevin Diaz v. Ashley Johnson First Circuit 2021-05-04 Denied Response Waived administrative-action administrative-procedure-act agency-action apa arbitrary-and-capricious chevron-deference ex-parte-communication ex-parte-communications judicial-review statutory-interpretation technology tucker-act Whether the Lower Court erred in not admitting nexus evidence
20-1248 Kyle Kinzy, et ux. v. First Tennessee Bank, N.A. Illinois 2021-03-09 Denied arbitrary-and-capricious due-process electronic-filing filing-requirements state-official substantive-due-process Whether a state official arbitrarily and capriciously violates substantive due process by rejecting a timely electronic filing
20-784 Jeffry Schmidt v. Kenneth J. Braithwaite, Secretary of the Navy District of Columbia 2020-12-08 Denied Response Waived administrative-review arbitrary-and-capricious arbitrary-capricious-standard disability-evaluation disability-ratings judicial-notice medical-evidence military-compensation military-disability new-and-material-evidence veterans-affairs veterans-disability Did Federal Circuits refuse to recognize consistent disability ratings between the U.S. Military and Department of Veterans Affairs
20-429 American Medical Association, et al. v. Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al. Ninth Circuit 2020-10-05 Granted Relisted (3) administrative-law affordable-care-act arbitrary-and-capricious family-planning free-speech hhs-rule medical-ethics patient-communication reproductive-health title-x Whether the Title X family planning program rule is arbitrary and capricious, violates the Title X appropriations act, and violates the Affordable Car…
20-228 ESIP Series 2, LLC v. Puzhen Life USA, LLC Federal Circuit 2020-08-28 Denied Response Waived administrative-patent-judges appointments-clause arbitrary-and-capricious art-iii-court due-process inter-partes-review patent statutory-jurisdiction thryv-precedent Whether Board decisions that are arbitrary and capricious, exceed the Board's statutory jurisdiction from the start, and are made by administrative pa…
19-8742 Harold Wayne Nichols v. Tennessee Tennessee 2020-06-18 Denied IFP arbitrary-and-capricious death-penalty death-sentence eighth-amendment fourteenth-amendment judicial-override prior-felony-aggravator settlement-agreement vagueness-doctrine Does the judicial override of a life sentence settlement agreement result in an arbitrary and capricious death sentence in violation of the Eighth and…
19-1231 Federal Communications Commission, et al. v. Prometheus Radio Project, et al. Third Circuit 2020-04-20 Judgment Issued Response Waived administrative-law agency-deference arbitrary-and-capricious broadcast-media competition cross-ownership-restrictions fcc fcc-ownership-rules market-competition market-conditions regulatory-review telecommunications-act telecommunications-act-1996 telecommunications-act-of-1996 viewpoint-diversity Whether the court of appeals erred in vacating as arbitrary and capricious the FCC orders under review, which, among other things, relaxed the agency'…
19-1119 Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance v. Department of the Interior, et al. Seventh Circuit 2020-03-13 Denied Response Waived administrative-law administrative-services arbitrary-and-capricious environmental-policy federal-property federal-property-and-administrative-services-act military-helicopter-training military-training national-environmental-policy-act national-park-service recreation secretary-of-the-interior standard-of-review statutory-interpretation Did the Seventh Circuit err in concluding that the National Park Service's approval of military helicopter training exercises on property conveyed for…
19-7880 Nathaniel Woods v. Jefferson S. Dunn, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2020-03-05 Denied IFP arbitrary-and-capricious arbitrary-discrimination arbitrary-punishment death-penalty due-process eighth-amendment equal-protection execution-method nitrogen-hypoxia suppressed-information Does the Eighth Amendment apply only to imposition of a death sentence, or may a petitioner challenge how a death sentence is carried out?
19-7801 James Benjamin Barstad v. Washington Department of Corrections, et al. Ninth Circuit 2020-02-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP arbitrary-and-capricious civil-rights constitutional-violation contract contract-breach due-process equal-protection inmate-rights punishment sandin-v-conner state-sanctions When does the repeated imposition of 'temporary' restrictions become unconstitutional?
19-7393 In Re David Gulbrandson 2020-01-23 Denied IFP arbitrary-and-capricious death-penalty standing state-law successive-petition arbitrary-and-capricious death-penalty due-process habeas-corpus ninth-circuit second-successive-petition state-law state-law-application successive-petition Whether transfer to the district court for a hearing pursuant to this Court's original habeas jurisdiction is warranted in this exceptional case
19-796 Michael Cowels, et al. v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al. First Circuit 2019-12-20 Denied Response Waived administrative-procedure-act agency-review arbitrary-and-capricious civil-rights dna-profile due-process fbi-determination federal-bureau-of-investigation national-dna-index-system pretext pretextual-basis pretextual-determination Whether the FBI's determination that a DNA profile is ineligible for upload to NDIS is arbitrary and capricious
19-6278 Kenneth Lyle Spangle v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-10-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-2113 18-usc-924 arbitrary-and-capricious bank-robbery categorical-approach certificate-of-appealability crime-of-violence due-process federal-bank-robbery fifth-amendment meaningful-review Whether the Circuit's decision to deny a certificate of appealability without any analysis or explanation for its decision at all was so arbitrary and…
19-86 Maria Jordan v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Department of Labor, et al. Fifth Circuit 2019-07-16 Denied Response Waived administrative-procedure-act agency-adjudication appellate-procedure arbitrary-and-capricious constitutional-law constitutional-rights due-process judicial-review Whether the Administrative Procedure Act, as applied to Petitioner by the Fifth Circuit, is unconstitutional
18-9709 Angie Walker v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-06-18 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP abuse-of-discretion administrative-law agency-action arbitrary-and-capricious due-process judicial-review legal-accountability obstruction-of-justice standard-of-review When Justices obstruct the law and legal proceedings by not adhering to the legal standards of review, who will hold them accountable?
18-9056 Calvin D. Fox v. The Florida Bar Florida 2019-05-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP arbitrary-and-capricious attorney-privilege constitutional-rights disciplinary-counsel-misconduct due-process equal-protection florida-bar florida-bar-trust-accounting-rules legal-privilege trust-accounting Whether Rule 5-1.2(f) of the Florida Trust Accounting Rules violates the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by…
18-1348 Orion Insurance Group, et al. v. Washington State Office of Minority & Women's Business Enterprises, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-04-26 Denied Response Waived arbitrary-and-capricious burden-shifting-test deference disadvantaged-business-enterprise discrimination-law federal-agency federal-agency-deference federal-program full-faith-and-credit minority-certification minority-group-membership state-agency state-agency-determination state-program vagueness Whether a federal agency should give full faith and credit or extreme deference to a state agency's prior determination of minority group membership
18-1332 Mario Alberto Recinos v. Board of Trustees, Police and Firemen's Retirement System New Jersey 2019-04-22 Denied Response Waived administrative-law arbitrary-and-capricious arbitrary-capricious-decision break-in-service civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process evidentiary-hearing pension pension-benefits pension-rights police-and-fireman-retirement-system retirement-benefits retirement-system undersheriff-position Should certiorari be granted as an important question of federal law that should be settled by this Court exists as the petitioner Mario Alberto Recin…
18-8175 Wessley J. Gunchick v. Bank of America, N.A. Seventh Circuit 2019-02-28 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP administrative-procedure arbitrary-and-capricious civil-procedure contract-law due-process employment-contract employment-dispute erisa erisa-standards legal-precedent standing Question not identified
18-8173 Ruben R. Herrera v. Brandon Price Ninth Circuit 2019-02-28 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 5th-amendment arbitrary-and-capricious civil-rights collateral-estoppel double-jeopardy due-process fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment plea-agreement pre-trial-detention Whether petitioner's pre-trial detention violates his Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights against double jeopardy and due process
18-7999 Raoul A. Galan v. Larry Gegenheimer, et al. Fifth Circuit 2019-02-15 Denied Relisted (2)IFP abuse-of-discretion administrative-law arbitrary-and-capricious civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-rights discrimination due-process judicial-discretion procedural-error racial-discrimination standing Were the lower courts manipulated by internal and/or external influences to deny petitioner his state and federal constitutional rights of protection?
18-7359 Billy Joe Greenwood v. Tennessee Board of Parole Tennessee 2019-01-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP arbitrary-and-capricious civil-rights discrimination discriminatory and illegal application of its par due-process hence causing them to serve more time than those parole violate the equal-protection arbitrary-and-capricious constitutional-rights discrimination discriminatory-application due-process equal-protection judicial-review offense-severity parole parole-system sentencing Does Tennessee's arbitrary, discriminatory and illegal application of its parole review and release consideration utilizing the seriousness of the off…
18-722 Soundboard Association v. Federal Trade Commission District of Columbia 2018-12-06 Denied Amici (3)Relisted (4) administrative-procedure administrative-procedure-act agency-rulemaking arbitrary-and-capricious chilled-speech chilling-effect federal-trade-commission judicial-review protected-speech rulemaking staff-advisory-opinion Do Petitioners have a right to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act of a Federal Trade Commission staff advisory opinion that effect…
18-388 Nigel Parker, et al. v. Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, Patent and Trademark Office Federal Circuit 2018-09-26 Denied Response Waived 5-usc-706(2)(e) administrative-law administrative-procedure agency-action agency-overreach arbitrary-and-capricious patent patent-law patent-office patent-office-rejection publication publication-standard publication-under-35-usc-102(b) record-evidence substantial-evidence Whether the substantial' evidence required to support agency action under 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(E) must be evidence of record?
18-376 Lisa Partin, et vir v. Michigan Children's Institute Michigan 2018-09-24 Denied administrative-law adoption arbitrary-and-capricious best-interest best-interest-factors child-protective-services civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process family-law michigan-adoption-code parental-rights standing whether-michigan-adoption-code-mcl-710.45-violates-due-process
18-5703 Joshua D. Blair v. Virginia Department of Corrections Fourth Circuit 2018-08-22 Denied IFP appeals arbitrary-and-capricious civil-procedure civil-rights due-process jurisdiction martinez-v-ryan procedural-defect standing Did the Foortis Cirecit Coors of Apgeals errored in Peii toner I writ, usinauny Vasiierer Shavoeck cont yi ed 1c an LYYPETrary ISSOL LWHYn Ane YM Circ…
18-139 Thomas E. Freeman, Jr. v. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services North Carolina 2018-07-31 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2) administrative-law administrative-procedure agency-authority arbitrary-and-capricious civil-rights due-process equal-justice equal-protection exceeded-authority judicial-review prejudiced-rights procedural-rights state-action state-agency state-employee May a court deny due-process of law and equal justice under the law of a State employee, when it is suspected that a State agency may have prejudiced …