deference

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Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-632 Laurence Bonday v. Nalco Company LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company Eleventh Circuit 2025-12-03 Pending Response RequestedResponse Waived arbitral-pleadings arbitration deference federal-law judicial-review statutory-interpretation Under 9 U.S.C. § 10(a)(4), may a court independently, and without deference to the arbitrator's determination, decide what claims are presented in a p…
24-138 Hospital Menonita de Guayama, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board District of Columbia 2024-08-07 GVR bargaining-unit deference labor-relations labor-relations-act majority-status nlrb nlrb-deference successor-employer union-certification union-recognition 1. Whether the National Labor Relations Act establishes a bar on a successor employer from challenging the continued support for a previously certifie…
24-61 Michael Cloud v. The Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan Fifth Circuit 2024-07-19 Denied Amici (3)Response Waived circuit-split civil-rights de-novo-review deference deferential-standard due-process erisa plan-administrator procedural-violation procedural-violations standard-of-review In Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch, the Court set forth the standard of review for denials of benefits provided by employers under the Employment…
23-7522 Gonzalo Rodriguez v. United States Tenth Circuit 2024-05-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law circuit-split deference judicial-deference kisor-doctrine kisor-v-wilkie sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation united-states-sentencing-commission Whether the administrative law principles articulated in Kisor v. Wilkie, 139 S. Ct. 2400 (2019), limit the deference owed to the United States Senten…
23-1224 Laila N. Hirjee v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-05-21 Denied Response Waived appellate-deference appellate-review deference evidentiary-standard inferences jury-verdict medical-decision prosecutorial-discretion standard-of-review weak-evidence weak-inference I. What level of deference from an appellate court is appropriate to a jury's verdict, when the verdict is based entirely on weak inferences to be dra…
23-7513 Russell Foreman v. United States Tenth Circuit 2024-05-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law agency-interpretation circuit-split deference judicial-deference kisor-v-wilkie sentencing-commission sentencing-guidelines statutory-construction united-states-sentencing-commission Whether the administrative law principles articulated in Kisor v. Wilkie, 139 S. Ct. 2400 (2019), limit the deference owed to the United States Senten…
23-7449 Jacob VanDyke v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-05-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law Auer-v-Robbins Chevron chevron-deference child-pornography commentary deference guideline-commentary judicial-review sentencing-guidelines Whether the 1 to 75 ratio for videos found in the commentary to U.S.S.G. § 2G2.2 is entitled to deference under Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resou…
23-7107 Brock Melancon v. United States Fifth Circuit 2024-03-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing deference judicial-deference kisor-v-wilkie sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation u.s.-sentencing-commission (1) Does this Court's decision in Kisor v. Wilkie, 139 S. Ct. 2400 (2019), govern the extent to which district courts may defer to the U.S. Sentencing…
23-6757 Bryan Alan Kennert v. United States Sixth Circuit 2024-02-15 Dismissed Response WaivedIFP actual-loss deference economic-offenses guideline-interpretation intended-loss judicial-deference loss-calculation sentencing-commission sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation This case involves the proper application of this Court's decision in Kisor v. Wilkie, 1389 S. Ct. 2400 (2019), in interpreting the United States Sent…
23-6421 Remberto Rivera v. United States Eighth Circuit 2024-01-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law agency-guidance circuit-split deference judicial-deference sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation stinson-v-united-states supreme-court-precedent Whether this Court's decision in Kisor v. Wilkie, 139 S. Ct. 2400 (2019), now prescribes the amount of deference to be paid to the United States Sente…
23-693 Yi-Chi Shih, aka Yugi Shi, aka Yichi Shih v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-12-27 Denied Response Waived administrative-law agency-interpretation criminal-law criminal-procedure deference export-controls regulatory-interpretation skidmore-deference technical-regulations The question presented is whether district courts may, under Skidmore, give deference to an agency's interpretation of its own technical regulations w…
23-6195 Lonzell J. Threats v. Barbara von Blanckensee, Warden Ninth Circuit 2023-12-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2241 civil-procedure deference deference-standard habeas-corpus judicial-review legal-review military-court military-courts mixed-questions questions-of-law Must a court reviewing a 28 U.S.C. § 2241 habeas corpus petition challenging a military-court conviction extend absolute deference to the military cou…
23-6157 Mario Alberto Netro-Perales v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-12-04 Denied IFP administrative-law circuit-split deference federal-courts federal-sentencing-guidelines judicial-deference kisor-v-wilkie sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation stinson-v-united-states 1. The circuits have split over the extent of deference that is to be given to the commentaries to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines after the decisio…
23-6150 Quindell Tyree Maloid v. United States Tenth Circuit 2023-12-01 Denied IFP administrative-interpretation administrative-law deference judicial-deference kisor-v-wilkie sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation united-states-sentencing-commission Whether the administrative law principles articulated in Kisor v. Wilkie, 139 S. Ct. 2400 (2019), limit the deference owed to the United States Senten…
23-577 Norfolk Southern Railway Company v. Surface Transportation Board, et al. District of Columbia 2023-11-29 Denied administrative-law circuit-split court-of-appeals deference hobbs-act jurisdiction jurisdictional-question kisor-v-wilkie legal-background procedural-background statutory-provisions surface-transportation-board The Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) is authorized by statute to exempt certain transactions involving rail carriers from the antitrust law…
23-197 James Owens, et al. v. Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. Second Circuit 2023-09-01 Denied Relisted (2) choice-of-forum co-plaintiff-composition court-jurisdiction deference foreign-co-plaintiffs forum-non-conveniens international-litigation terrorism terrorism-victims U.S.-resident-plaintiffs Whether the choice of a U.S. forum by U.S.-resident plaintiffs is entitled to "less deference" under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, rather than…
22-1210 Colgate-Palmolive Company, et al. v. Rebecca McCutcheon, Individually and on Behalf of all Others Similarly Situated, et al. Second Circuit 2023-06-14 Denied actuarial-assumptions benefit-determination circuit-split deference erisa erisa-plan-administrator-discretion extrinsic-evidence judicial-interpretation plan-administrator statutory-and-regulatory This Court has repeatedly held that when an ERISA plan expressly confers upon the plan administrator discretion to interpret its terms, that interpret…
22-7289 Terrick Bishoff v. United States First Circuit 2023-04-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review application-notes circuit-court circuit-split criminal-intent deference firearms-trafficking gun-transfer sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation 1. Whether the First Circuit erred in concluding that the enhancement for trafficking in firearms set out in U.S.S.G. §2K2.1(b)(5) applies to someone …
22-789 Town of Southold, New York v. Rossana Rosado, New York State Secretary of State, et al. Second Circuit 2023-02-21 Denied Response Waived administrative-procedure administrative-procedures-act burden-of-proof coastal-zone-management coastal-zone-management-act deference dredge-spoil-disposal environmental-policy environmental-protection federal-consistency national-environmental-policy standing The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") designated a permanent dredge spoil disposal site at the edge of the Town of Southold's border, known as t…
22-6655 Theodore Washington v. Ryan Thornell, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry Ninth Circuit 2023-01-30 Denied Amici (1)IFP criminal-procedure deference due-process fact-finding federal-court federal-habeas habeas habeas-corpus judicial-deference procedural-review state-court state-court-findings Must a federal habeas court defer to a state-court finding of fact that favors the defendant?
22-392 Bel Air Auto Auction, Inc. v. Great Northern Insurance Company Fourth Circuit 2022-10-26 Denied Response Waived abstention appellate-procedure certification circuit-split civil-procedure deference erie-doctrine federal-courts interlocutory-appeal judicial-deference state-courts state-law-certification Did the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit violate the principle of Erie v. Thompkins by denying Bel Air's motion to defer its ruli…
22-120 Suntree Pharmacy, et al. v. Drug Enforcement Administration Eleventh Circuit 2022-08-09 Denied Response Waived administrative-deference administrative-law controlled-substances dea dea-registration deference legitimate-medical-purpose medical-purpose prescription prescription-filling regulatory-interpretation Whether a pharmacy violates its corresponding responsibility under 21 C.F.R. § 1306.04(a) and knowingly fills a prescription for a controlled substanc…
22-1 Lynn Brown, as Appointed Successor and Representative of Now Deceased Howard M. Berry v. Christine E. Wormuth, Secretary of the Army, et al. District of Columbia 2022-06-30 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived administrative-procedure-act agency-review civil-procedure deference government-procedure judicial-review military military-deference standing statutory-interpretation Whether the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") incorporates a presumption of "unusual deference" in all cases involving the military.
21-1405 Lester J. Smith v. Timothy C. Ward, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2022-05-06 Denied Amici (8) accommodation circuit-court-review circuit-split civil-rights deference penological-interests prison-policy prisoners-rights religious-freedom religious-liberty rluipa In Knight v. Thompson , the Eleventh Circuit concluded —on remand following Holt v. Hobbs , 574 U.S. 352 (2015) —that the Religious Land Use and Insti…
21-1028 International Energy Ventures Management, L.L.C. v. United Energy Group, Ltd. Fifth Circuit 2022-01-20 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) appellate-review arbitration arbitration-waiver circuit-split civil-procedure clear-error-standard deference fact-finding federal-rules-of-civil-procedure litigation-conduct rule-52a standard-of-review The district court in this case found, as a factual matter, that Respondent did not suffer prejudice from Petitioner's failure to immediately press it…
21-972 Thomas H. Buffington v. Denis R. McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Federal Circuit 2022-01-06 Denied Amici (5)Relisted (12) administrative-law chevron-deference chevron-doctrine deference judicial-review pro-veteran-canon statutory-interpretation veterans-benefits 1. Whether the Chevron doctrine permits courts to defer to VA's construction of a statute designed to benefit veterans, without first considering the …
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…
21-862 Samuel Hartman v. Dexter Payne, Director, Arkansas Division of Correction Eighth Circuit 2021-12-10 Denied Response Waived §2254-litigation 28-usc-2254 circuit-split comity comity-doctrine deference federal-habeas procedural-default state-court-deference state-post-conviction 1. Whether the majority of circuits are correct that comity prevents Federal courts in proceedings under 28 U.S.C. 2254 from overturning legal conclus…
21-6295 Jmarreon Mack v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-11-16 Denied IFP administrative-law appellate-review attempt controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense deference fifth-circuit judicial-deference sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Did the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals err when it deferred to the United States Sentencing Commission's use of commentary in its Guidelines Manual to…
21-637 William Lee, Superintendent, Eastern Correctional Facility v. James Garlick Second Circuit 2021-11-01 Denied autopsy-report confrontation-clause deference habeas-corpus harmless-error testimonial 1. In granting habeas corpus relief to a state court prisoner, did the Second Circuit create a circuit split and deny the state court judgment the def…
21-5186 Mihran Melkonyan v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-07-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law auer-deference circuit-split deference federal-courts judicial-interpretation regulatory-interpretation sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation 1.) Whether, as the Courts of Appeals for the Third' and Sixth² Circuits have held, in conflict with the decision below³ and decisions of the Fifth* a…
20-8405 Robert Allen Vestal v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-06-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
20-7409 Eduardo Pena-Garcia v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
20-7387 Vaughn Lewis v. United States First Circuit 2021-03-09 Denied Relisted (2)IFP agency-deference career-offender controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense deference inchoate-offenses sentencing-guidelines separation-of-powers statutory-interpretation When "controlled substance offense" is defined in the text of the Career Offender Guideline, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(b), whether the commentary can add consp…
20-597 Wisdom Jeffery v. Nathan Brooks, Warden Eleventh Circuit 2020-11-05 Denied Response Waived actual-innocence aedpa constitutional-error deference federal-courts habeas-corpus procedural-default Whether a state court's decision concerning a constitutional error, such as a claim of ineffective- should receive deference under AEDPA's 28 U.S.C. …
20-6083 John Oliver Wooten v. Patrick Warren, Warden Sixth Circuit 2020-10-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP deference factual-error federal-courts federal-review habeas-corpus habeas-review sixth-amendment sixth-circuit standard-of-review state-court state-courts Is a state court decision entitled to deference on federal habeas review if it is undisputed that the state court applied the wrong standard of review…
20-468 Xpedite Systems, Inc. v. John J. Ficara, Acting Director, New Jersey Division of Taxation New Jersey 2020-10-09 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived apportionment commerce-clause deference due-process due-process-clause interstate-commerce revenue-reapportionment state-taxation tax-apportionment This Court has long held that State taxation of interstate commerce is only permissible where, among other factors, the tax is fairly apportioned to t…
20-5433 Gregory Wind v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-08-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-deference circuit-split deference district-court federal-courts-of-appeals federal-sentencing judicial-discretion sentencing sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Did the district court impose a substantively unreasonable sentence upon Mr. Wind?
19-7427 Rodolfo Perez-Jimenez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-01-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference due-process federal-sentencing judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-7188 John Jay Powers v. M. L. Stancil Tenth Circuit 2020-01-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 18-usc-3584 18-usc-3584a administrative-deference administrative-law bureau-of-prisons criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing deference federal-bureau-of-prisons federal-courts federal-sentencing sentencing-interpretation statutory-ambiguity statutory-interpretation FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ANY OF THE CIRCUITS, THE TENTH CIRCUIT HELD THE LANGUAGE OF 18 U.S.C. 3584(a)'S PHRASE "AT THE SAME TIME" TO BE AMBIGUOUS. THE T…
19-7103 Edward Merritt v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-12-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP administrative-law controlled-substance-offense criminal-law deference guideline-commentary inchoate-offenses judicial-deference sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation 1. Is the definition of "controlled substance offense" in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(b) genuinely ambiguous such that the guideline commentary can be used to re…
19-6882 Zackary Ikaika Bryton Thompson v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-12-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference due-process judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-6748 Steven A. Adams v. United States Seventh Circuit 2019-11-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-and-abetting ambiguity attempt conspiracy controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-law deference deference-doctrine sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines sentencing-guidelines-manual-4b1.2b statutory-interpretation 1. Whether the term "controlled substance offense" defined by UNITED STATES SENTENCING GUIDELINES MANUAL § 4B1.2(b) to mean "an offense under federal …
19-6415 Jose Eleuterio Nava v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-10-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference district-court due-process judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-5922 Pedro Munoz, aka Pedro Munoz Ruiz v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-09-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference district-court federal-courts-of-appeals federal-sentencing judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-311 Al Cannon, Sheriff, Charleston County, South Carolina v. Broderick William Seay, Jr. Fourth Circuit 2019-09-06 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (9) appellate-review deference double-jeopardy fact-finding federal-habeas manifest-necessity mistrial strict-scrutiny trial-court-deference trial-court-discretion I. In review of a state decision under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, when a federal appellate court must determine if double jeopardy protection bars retrial afte…
19-296 Damien Guedes, et al. v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, et al. District of Columbia 2019-09-04 Denied Amici (7)Relisted (5) administrative-law chevron-deference criminal-law deference due-process judicial-review overrule rule-of-lenity statutory-interpretation waiver 1. Whether Chevron deference, rather than the rule of lenity, takes precedence in the interpretation of statutory language defining an element of vari…
19-5448 Antolin Torres Abonza v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing deference due-process federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness substantive-reasonableness-review Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
19-5290 Ryan Keith Mason v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2019-07-23 Denied IFP appellate-review attorney-performance credibility credibility-determination criminal-procedure deference deference-standard deference-to-trial-court evidence ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel legal-sufficiency plea-bargaining plea-offer standard-of-review Where deference is the only issue singled out by a Court of Appeals as the only question as to debatability, and that specific deference goes directly…
18-9635 Carlos Antonio Flores v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-06-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP adequate-deference co-defendant-sentences deference due-process just-punishment plea-agreement plea-bargaining sentencing sentencing-disparities substantive-reasonableness Is the Sentence Substantially unreasonable because if creates unwarranted Sentence Disparities for deterrence and in light of the fact that the Senten…
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 1. Whether a federal agency determining whether an individual is a member of a minority group for purposes of inclusion in a federal program should gi…
18-8165 Michael J. Galvan v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-02-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure deference federal-courts judicial-discretion sentencing-factors sentencing-review standard-of-review substantive-reasonableness Whether substantive reasonableness review necessarily encompasses some degree of reweighing the sentencing factors?
18-7703 Nathan Smith III v. Sherry Pennywell, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-02-01 Denied IFP 2254(d)(2) cumulative-error de-novo-review deference due-process fact-finding fourteenth-amendment habeas-corpus habeas-corpus-review ineffective-assistance sixth-amendment standard-of-review unreasonable-determination 1) DID THE CCA SO STRETCH THE FACTS IN THIS CASE SO UNREASONABLY THAT NO DEFERENCE COULD BE POSSIBLE TO ITS INTERPETATION OF WHAT OCCURRED IN THE TACO…
18-6979 Lewis Carnell Jackson v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-12-11 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-offense culpable-negligence deference federal-circuit-courts federal-courts mens-rea sentencing-enhancement state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether a criminal offense with a mens rea of "culpable negligence" qualifies as a "violent felony" under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 9…
18-5275 Christopher Counts v. Eddie Wilson, Warden, et al. Tenth Circuit 2018-07-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP constitutional-issues deference due-process due-process-clause ex-parte federal-court-deference judicial-order retroactive-application state-court-order summary-judgment 1 Does Federal Courtdeferenceto an ex parte Judical Order, adapted from the Respondents Consolidaded Motion For Summary Judgment, resul incluims that …