legal-access
35 cases — ← All topics
| Case | Title | Lower Court | Docketed | Status | Flags | Tags | Question Presented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-6610 | Robert Franklin Brown v. Arizona | Arizona | 2026-01-16 | Pending | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-law due-process legal-access legal-assistance prison-system prisoner-rights | Question not identified. |
| 25-6380 | Anthony James Merrick v. Ryan Thornell, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, et al. | Ninth Circuit | 2025-12-16 | Pending | IFP | due-process first-amendment grievance-rights judicial-decision legal-access pro-se-prisoner | I. THE NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS DECISION CONFLICTS WITH TURNER V. SAFELY, 482 U.S. 78 AND CREATES A DOUBLE STANDARD FOR PRO-SE PRISONERS THAT DO… |
| 25A518 | John T. Hardee v. Jeff Vergakis, Individually and as Superintendent, Hampton Roads Regional Jail, et al. | Fourth Circuit | 2025-11-05 | Application | constitutional-rights court-access document-preparation legal-access prison-conditions pro-se-litigation | Whether a state corrections facility's restrictions on legal research access and document preparation violate an incarcerated individual's constitutio… | |
| 25-5833 | Braun Thompson v. United States | Seventh Circuit | 2025-10-08 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | constitutional-rights government-policy judicial-review legal-access prisoners-rights procedural-protections | 1. Do Citizens have a Constitutional right to clarity of the law, and thus access to the Courts? 2. May prisoners issue the right/as violated by the … |
| 25-5238 | In Re Dennis Griffith | 2025-07-30 | Denied | IFP | constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process effective-counsel fair-trial legal-access | Does cl iHValiJ usurer ot Counsel hearing and no access to fke. Courts, don^ aJ+k etker ~ pcetrid violations o'? Conrhtutiond rigkts 5cJ Compulsory p… | |
| 24A1058 | Derrick Lloyd v. Robert Morton | Second Circuit | 2025-05-01 | Presumed Complete | constitutional-rights emergency-staffing habeas-corpus legal-access prison-conditions pro-se | Whether a pro se prisoner's constitutional right to meaningful access to legal resources is impermissibly burdened when a state correctional facility'… | |
| 24A160 | George Hall v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2024-08-09 | Presumed Complete | due-process legal-access legal-materials pre-trial-detention right-to-counsel sixth-amendment | Whether a criminal defendant's constitutional rights are violated when a district court improperly restricts access to legal materials and law library… | |
| 24A158 | James A. Allen v. Ricky D. Dixon, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections | Florida | 2024-08-09 | Presumed Complete | habeas-corpus legal-access prisoner-rights pro-se procedural-bar time-extension | Whether a pro se prisoner's limited access to legal resources and mental health challenges constitute good cause for an extension of time to file a wr… | |
| 24A70 | Ricky Donnell Abner v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2024-07-22 | Presumed Complete | certiorari federal-prisoner legal-access lockdown pro-se time-extension | Whether a federal prisoner can obtain an extension of time to file a certiorari petition when experiencing lockdown conditions that impede legal resea… | |
| 23A1051 | Joseph Roach v. Amy Robey, Warden | Sixth Circuit | 2024-05-24 | Presumed Complete | incarceration legal-access pro-se supreme-court time-extension writ-filing | Whether a pro se incarcerated litigant's limited access to legal resources constitutes good cause for an extension of time to file a Supreme Court wri… | |
| 23A967 | Christopher Dominguez v. United States | Tenth Circuit | 2024-04-29 | Presumed Complete | certiorari institutional-transfer legal-access prisoner-rights pro-se time-extension | Whether a pro se prisoner is entitled to an extension of time to file a petition for writ of certiorari when facing institutional transfer and limited… | |
| 23A895 | Daniel Hess, aka Jason Hess v. United States | Eighth Circuit | 2024-04-08 | Presumed Complete | administrative-obstruction appellate-rights due-process inmate-grievance legal-access prison-lockdown | Whether prison administrative lockdowns and operational changes that substantially impair an inmate's ability to timely access legal materials and fil… | |
| 23A872 | Emanuel Mois v. United States | Ninth Circuit | 2024-04-01 | Presumed Complete | §-2255-motion covid-19 extraordinary-circumstances legal-access pandemic-limitations procedural-ruling | Whether the district court's procedural ruling denying a § 2255 motion should be reconsidered due to extraordinary COVID-19 pandemic circumstances tha… | |
| 23A861 | Larry Elwood Steptoe v. United States | Fourth Circuit | 2024-03-25 | Presumed Complete | appeal-dismissal fourth-circuit habeas-corpus legal-access prisoner-rights sentencing | Whether the district court's sentencing calculation or the Fourth Circuit's dismissal of an appeal warrants extraordinary review due to limitations on… | |
| 23-7017 | Cyrus Hazari v. Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County, et al. | Ninth Circuit | 2024-03-18 | Denied | IFP | ada americans-with-disabilities-act civil-rights constitutional-protections disability disability-rights due-process fair-play judicial-discrimination legal-access self-represented systemic-bias | Do state and federal jurisprudence systemically eliminate rights and access to legal remedies for self-represented disabled litigants with invisible d… |
| 23A833 | Brandon Roberts v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc., et al. | Fourth Circuit | 2024-03-11 | Presumed Complete | civil-rights fourth-circuit legal-access prisoner-litigation pro-se writ-of-certiorari | Whether a pro se prisoner's limited access to legal resources constitutes an unconstitutional burden on his right to seek judicial review of his civil… | |
| 23A760 | Bruce Wayne Harp v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division | Fifth Circuit | 2024-02-20 | Presumed Complete | court-procedure legal-access petition-forms pro-se supreme-court writ-of-certiorari | Whether a pro se petitioner can obtain Supreme Court petition forms when unable to access them through standard channels | |
| 23A623 | Yan Ping Xu v. City of New York, New York, et al. | Second Circuit | 2024-01-05 | Presumed Complete | certiorari legal-access pro-se senior-citizen supreme-court time-extension | Whether a pro se senior citizen petitioner should be granted an extraordinary extension of time to file a Supreme Court petition for writ of certiorar… | |
| 23A408 | Michael Marrara, et al. v. Philip D. Murphy, et al. | Third Circuit | 2023-11-06 | Presumed Complete | certiorari legal-access prisoners-rights pro-se supreme-court-rules time-extension | Whether pro se prisoners can obtain a 60-day extension to file a Supreme Court certiorari petition due to institutional limitations that substantially… | |
| 22-7105 | Jimmy Allen Roberts v. Eddie M. Buffaloe, Jr., Secretary, North Carolina Department of Public Safety | Fourth Circuit | 2023-03-24 | Denied | IFP | access-to-courts civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process equitable-tolling habeas-corpus legal-access prison-library statute-of-limitations | Whether the Fourth Circuit's bright-line rule denying equitable tolling to North Carolina prisoners who lack access to legal resources violates the co… |
| 21-7653 | Nathan Christopher Braun v. Justin DeMars, et al. | Eighth Circuit | 2022-04-19 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | appeal-preparation civil-rights confinement document-access due-process eleventh-circuit legal-access legal-materials medical-care prison-litigation retaliation transfer | Did the retaliatory transfer from one facility to another violate the petitioner's due process rights? |
| 21-7485 | Terrell Staton v. Ned Lamont | Second Circuit | 2022-03-29 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | 8th-amendment civil-rights disciplinary-report due-process eighth-amendment grievance-procedure judicial-discretion legal-access malicious-interference procedural-restrictions retaliation | Did Gam E cE | ~ NoTKE expose the plaintiff to dangerous living conditions by his reluctance and insubordination to wear his mask appropriately? |
| 21-7467 | Patrick Muraca v. Securities and Exchange Commission | First Circuit | 2022-03-25 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | access-to-courts attorney-representation civil-rights court-deadlines due-process incarcerated-rights incarceration legal-access procedural-rules right-to-counsel speedy-trial | Does an incarcerated individual have the timely and speedy right to an attorney before important court decisions are made, such as missing a deadline … |
| 21-6923 | Raymond V. DiGiacomo v. Superior Court of California, City and County of San Francisco | California | 2022-01-20 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | ada-1990 appellate-rights court-funding disability-rights due-process judicial-conduct judicial-review legal-access procedural-technicalities reasonable-accommodation state-court-procedure | Whether a disabled litigant be allowed a reasonable accommodation to cover which requires one or more of said court's judges to lower their vocal tone… |
| 21-6167 | Harry Sharod James v. Roy Cooper, et al. | Fourth Circuit | 2021-11-03 | Denied | IFP | access-to-courts civil-rights constitutional-rights court-access due-process equal-protection judicial-procedure law-library legal-access prisoner-rights | Whether the petitioner was deprived of his fundamental constitutional right of access to the courts by not having access to a meaningful, effective, a… |
| 21-5861 | Bradley Garrett v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division | Fifth Circuit | 2021-10-05 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | access-to-legal-materials constitutional-violation dna-evidence due-process evidence-standards incarceration-rights jury-selection legal-access perjury procedural-protections standards-of-proof | Whether the district court erred in dismissing petitioner's claims regarding due process violations related to access to legal materials, perjured tes… |
| 21-5637 | Vinicio Jesus Garcia v. Darryl Glenn, et al. | Fifth Circuit | 2021-09-09 | Denied | IFP | access-to-courts civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-rights court-resources due-process equal-protection habeas-corpus inmate-rights legal-access standing | Does the denial of the right to file a § 2254 habeas corpus claim with a court violate due-process, access-to-courts, civil-rights |
| 21-139 | James W. Gilliam, II v. Discover Bank, et al. | New York | 2021-08-03 | Denied | Relisted (2) | access-to-justice american-jurisprudence civil-rights constitutional-rights court-representation due-process fundamental-rights individual-immunity justice-system legal-access right-to-counsel | Whether a citizen is entitled to their own day in court or be denied justice due to inability to afford a lawyer |
| 20-7376 | Howard E. Martin, III v. Ohio | Sixth Circuit | 2021-03-09 | Denied | IFP | access-to-justice appellate-procedure civil-rights constitutional-rights court-of-appeals due-process equal-protection in-forma-pauperis legal-access standing systemic-racism | Where are the Justices, Honorable Seer, who is sentencing Petitioner denied an opportunity to present Petitioner's defense, failed to avail the Petiti… |
| 19-7990 | Gabriel L. Roman v. Sarah H. Kim, et al. | California | 2020-03-13 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | california-law civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-challenge due-process first-amendment free-speech legal-access standing vexatious-litigant | Whether the California Vexatious Litigant Statute is Unconstitutional |
| 19-5152 | Daryll Keith Shumake v. Virginia | Fourth Circuit | 2019-07-11 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | civil-rights confrontation-clause constitutional-rights court-filing due-process evidence-suppression exculpatory-evidence hearsay ineffective-assistance-of-counsel legal-access legal-materials prison-litigation prisoner-rights prosecutorial-misconduct | How did the law waive the petitioner's right to confrontation? |
| 18A1294 | Timothy L. Joe v. Mark S. Inch, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, et al. | Eleventh Circuit | 2019-06-11 | Presumed Complete | certificate-of-appealability habeas-corpus legal-access pro-se supreme-court-rule time-extension | Whether a pro se prisoner's limited access to legal resources and law library constitutes good cause for an extension of time to file a petition for a… | |
| 18A1283 | Kurtis Keith Lowe v. United States | Fifth Circuit | 2019-06-07 | Presumed Complete | administrative-remedy constitutional-rights federal-corrections law-library legal-access pro-se | Whether a pro se prisoner's constitutional rights are violated by systematic denial of law library access and interference with legal preparation time… | |
| 18-7805 | Michael Bohannan v. Wesley Griffin | Fifth Circuit | 2019-02-07 | Denied | Response WaivedIFP | abuse-of-discretion appellate-procedure civil-rights court-discretion deputy-clerk discretion-abuse due-process federal-rules-of-appellate-procedure indigent-representation legal-access motion-classification reconsideration rule-26(b) standing time-extension | Does a court of appeals deputy clerk abuse discretion by refusing to consider appellate procedure rules in a time extension motion decision |
| 18-5477 | Thomas Ebron v. Karen D. Brown, Chair, Virginia Parole Board, et al. | Fourth Circuit | 2018-08-07 | Denied | IFP | 42-usc-1983 appeal appeals appellate-review civil-procedure civil-rights district-court due-process federal-procedure legal-access standing statutory-interpretation | Has the U.S. Court of Appeals abused its discretion and committed reversible error in dismissing Ebron's 42 USC § 1983 appeal, finding no reversable e… |