standard-of-proof

57 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-5711 Jermal Williams v. Louisiana Louisiana 2025-09-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP circumstantial-evidence constitutional-law criminal-procedure due-process fourteenth-amendment standard-of-proof Under the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution Amendment XIV, is La. R.S. 15:438 a higher standard of proof than Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. …
24-990 Nina Elmendorf-Steele v. Michigan Michigan 2025-03-18 Denied animal-control civil-forfeiture euthanasia government-proceeding judicial-district standard-of-proof 1. Does a civil forfeiture proceeding brought by the government against an animal require the clear and convincing standard of proof?
23-7715 Noel Bender v. Iowa Department of Corrections, et al. Eighth Circuit 2024-06-13 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP criminal-procedure criminal-statute domestic-violence due-process evidence federal-law firearm-possession gun-rights restraining-order standard-of-proof statutory-interpretation Whether Suth Amfra/f &JdwCt Suff&rfe Ahvt dhAJat C&tudi Jyndfiy /XtiadOmaA'U skedA 9M9 y&d Bentff Add Pm/A Afrt A^hah/A/np a/- ?Ae Bmdtr dS&uf-kd AAe …
23-6943 Michael Lawrence Kerlin v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-03-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-sentencing cross-reference disproportionate-effect due-process evidence evidence-standard pro-se-petition sentencing-guidelines standard-of-proof 1. Whether a cross reference which has a disproportionate effect on the sentence requires a higher standard of proof that mere proponderence. 2. Whet…
23-766 Scott Douglas Ora v. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce California 2024-01-17 Denied Relisted (2) appellate-review burden-of-proof conditions-precedent due-process judicial-procedure judicial-review right-to-jury-trial standard-of-proof waiver 1. In this case of perilously profound impression, did the Court of Appeal violate the due process rights of Appellant when it arbitrarily disregarded…
23-5817 Cordarius Lawrence v. Illinois Illinois 2023-10-17 Denied IFP appeal criminal-procedure due-process jurisdiction sentencing standard-of-proof Question not identified.
22-7731 Roy Lee Jones, Jr. v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-06-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof controlled-substances criminal-procedure drug-conspiracy due-process essential-elements evidence fifth-circuit-precedent jury-instructions sentencing sentencing-issue standard-of-proof Did the Fifth Circuit err when it 're-branded' a failure to prove an essential element of the government's methamphetamine case against Mr. Jones beyo…
22-7308 Jose Alfredo Solis v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-04-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review circuit-split criminal-procedure federal-appeals guidelines-range harmless-error sentencing-guidelines standard-of-proof What standard of proof must the government meet to prove a preserved Guidelines error is harmless?
22-956 Paul Johnson v. Bastrop Central Appraisal District Texas 2023-03-31 Denied Response Waived access-to-justice civil-rights due-process equal-protection mandamus-writ pro-se public-information standard-of-proof standing statutory-interpretation texas-law Should the State of Texas create a separate standard of proof in statutory Writ of Mandamus cases that denies the poor and pro se requesters access to…
22-6561 Telly Hankton v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-01-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP confrontation-clause conspiracy-liability criminal-procedure federal-circuit-courts forfeiture-by-wrongdoing sixth-amendment standard-of-proof testimonial-statements What standard of proof is required for the admission of prior testimonial statements under the forfeiture-by-wrongdoing exception to the Confrontation…
22-6522 Charvez Brooks v. United States Fourth Circuit 2023-01-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure direct-appeal due-process federal-courts hobbs-act ineffective-assistance interstate-commerce judicial-discretion jury-instructions reasonable-doubt standard-of-proof Does a federal district court possess meaningful discretion to define 'proof beyond a reasonable doubt' in jury instructions?
22-5692 Kyle Brandon Rocha v. West Virginia West Virginia 2022-09-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP beyond-a-reasonable-doubt confrontation confrontation-clause constitutional-rights due-process hearsay hearsay-evidence reasonable-doubt sentencing sentencing-hearing standard-of-proof Is it a violation of a defendant's rights to due process of law and confrontation for a Court to make a finding in a sentencing hearing based solely o…
21-8187 Jesse Bell v. Florida Florida 2022-06-21 Denied IFP aggravating-factors alleyne-v-united-states apprendi-v-new-jersey capital-sentencing constitutional-standard due-process mitigating-circumstances reasonable-doubt ring-v-arizona standard-of-proof Whether the Due Process Clause requires the additional determinations under Florida's capital sentencing scheme to be made beyond a reasonable doubt
21-1453 Joe A. Lynch v. Denis R. McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Federal Circuit 2022-05-17 Denied Amici (6) administrative-law legislative-history pro-claimant pro-veteran-canon standard-of-proof statutory-interpretation va-claims veterans-benefits Are the many millions of disabled veterans, their survivors and dependents entitled to have the VA meet a higher threshold of proof to deny their clai…
21-7548 Sergey Genadievich Novitskiy v. Colorado Colorado 2022-04-05 Denied IFP bench-trial burden-of-proof constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process jury-trial standard-of-proof waiver Whether a defendant's choice to proceed to a bench trial in a criminal case lowers the prosecution's burden of proof
21-7543 Gerardo Castillo-Chavez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-04-05 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2244 28-usc-2255 constitutional-ruling district-court habeas-corpus jurisdiction preponderance-of-evidence section-2255 standard-of-proof successive-motion successive-petitions Whether a district court is authorized to dismiss a successive § 2255 motion for lack of jurisdiction after a court of appeals has authorized the fili…
21-7356 Stacey Tremaine Johnson v. United States Fourth Circuit 2022-03-14 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence firearm-possession guideline-calculation jury-instruction jury-instructions sentencing sentencing-reasonableness standard-of-proof uncharged-conduct Whether there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find the petitioner guilty of drug-trafficking,firearm-possession
21-964 Sherrie Rye v. Lucas County Department of Job and Family Services Ohio 2022-01-04 Denied Response Waived adoption-and-safe-families-act burden-of-proof child-welfare civil-rights due-process family-law parental-rights santosky-standard standard-of-proof termination-of-parental-rights Should the Court expand the minimum burden of proof to terminate parental rights to a standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt and prohibit burden-sh…
21-6328 Scottie D. Allen v. Florida Florida 2021-11-18 Denied IFP capital-sentencing criminal-procedure due-process eighth-amendment jury-instructions reasonable-doubt sentencing standard-of-proof Whether the Florida Supreme Court's rejection of Petitioner's claim of error based on the jury being affirmatively misinformed about its role in the s…
21-633 Gustavo Placancia-Rosendo v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-10-29 Denied Response Waived acceptance-of-responsibility burden-of-proof criminal-procedure due-process plea-agreement relevant-conduct sentencing standard-of-proof Whether the government must meet a heightened standard of proof before claiming a defendant has 'falsely denied' uncharged 'relevant conduct' for purp…
21-5553 F. Daly v. Maine Maine 2021-09-03 Denied Response WaivedIFP beyond-reasonable-doubt boyde-v-california burden-of-proof constitutional-standard criminal-procedure due-process jury-instructions standard-of-proof sullivan-v-louisiana witness-testimony Whether the jury instruction misdescribes the standard of proof, resulting in a reasonable likelihood of unconstitutional application
21-5166 Leobardo Valladares v. Craig Koenig, Warden Ninth Circuit 2021-07-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure cumulative-error due-process evidentiary-hearing first-degree-murder ineffective-assistance jury-instructions reasonable-doubt standard-of-proof sufficiency-of-evidence Did the Prosecution Fail to Prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Valladares Committed First Degree Murder?
20-1614 John D. Leontaritis v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-05-19 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) circuit-split criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process fact-determination jury-finding jury-instructions reasonable-doubt sentencing sentencing-discretion standard-of-proof Whether jury findings impact sentencing
20-7547 Saloman Martinez v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-03-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP confrontation-clause constitutional-interpretation criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process evidence judicial-discretion kentucky-law sentencing-guidelines sixth-amendment standard-of-proof supreme-court-precedent Whether the defendant's conviction and sentence are in conflict with the Supreme Court's precedents in (1) Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004),…
20-1107 Roddie Melvin v. Federal Express Corporation Eleventh Circuit 2021-02-11 Denied Amici (2)Response Waived age-discrimination circuit-split eleventh-circuit employment-discrimination evidence-standard preponderance-of-evidence preponderance-of-the-evidence seventh-circuit standard-of-proof summary-judgment What standard of proof must courts apply in evaluating summary judgment motions in employment-discrimination cases?
20-6524 Joshua D. Myers v. Georgia Georgia 2020-12-03 Denied IFP burden-of-proof consent criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process jury-instructions lesser-included-offense sexual-assault sexual-battery standard-of-proof trial-court-discretion trial-procedure Whether the State proved the essential element of 'without the consent' beyond a reasonable doubt
20-5894 Jorge Eduardo Nava v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-10-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-liability criminal-sentencing due-process fifth-amendment preponderance-of-evidence relevant-conduct sentencing-guidelines standard-of-proof unrelated-offense Does the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause require a heightened standard of proof to dramatically increase a criminal defendant's prison sentence f…
20-5748 Dacarius Holliday v. Louisiana Louisiana 2020-09-17 Denied IFP constitutional-error criminal-intent criminal-negligence due-process eighth-amendment jury-instructions jury-sentencing specific-intent standard-of-proof trial-court Can convictions for crimes requiring specific intent create constitutional error where the trial court has ruled that the evidence supports criminal n…
20-5575 In Re Van Lawson Williams 2020-09-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeals-court civil-procedure clear-and-convincing-standard due-process standard-of-proof successive-proceedings Whether an appeals court has discretion to implement a clear and convincing standard of proof in a second or successive proceeding
19-8567 Thintinus Noseth Taylor v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-05-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-922 2nd-amendment burden-of-proof constructive-possession criminal-procedure criminal-statute due-process firearm-prohibition second-amendment standard-of-proof Whether the Ninth Circuit's low burden of proof for possession of a firearm in cohabitation cases extends the scope of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) beyond its p…
19-7080 Stanley Jaboin v. Florida Florida 2019-12-27 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure due-process due-process,criminal-procedure,federal-law,supreme failure-to-render-aid federal-law florida-statute-316.193 judgment-of-acquittal motion-for-acquittal standard-of-proof statutory-interpretation supreme-court-precedent Did the First District Courts of Appeals apply federal law issued by the United States Supreme Court in a way that frustrates and undermines its holdi…
19-6884 Glen B. Clay, aka Glenn B. Clay v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-12-09 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2255 armed-career-criminal-act district-court-review due-process johnson-v-united-states procedural-default residual-clause sentencing sentencing-enhancement standard-of-proof successive-motion Whether the court of appeals erred in affirming the district court's decision that it could not consider on the merits Mr. Clay's successive motion ba…
19-6256 Jason Simon v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-10-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP acquitted-conduct due-process false-accusation habeas-corpus-relief judicial-discretion prejudice presentence-report sentencing sentencing-enhancement standard-of-proof statutory-maximum uncharged-conduct Did the lower courts err by relying on a false accusation listed in the PSR, that was verified as false, as the sole basis for not only imposing a sta…
19-6145 Anthony Mark Smith, Jr. v. Virginia Virginia 2019-10-03 Denied IFP civil-rights constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process evidence evidence-admissibility fair-trial hearsay precedent standard-of-proof victim-testimony Whether the Virginia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals erred in refusing to set aside the petitioner's conviction and sentence, which violated his ri…
19-306 Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. v. Yury Rinsky First Circuit 2019-09-05 Denied civil-procedure diversity-jurisdiction erie-doctrine federal-courts legal-standards punitive-damages standard-of-proof state-courts state-law state-law-certification subject-matter-jurisdiction Whether federal courts sitting in diversity should exercise their discretion to certify questions to state high courts when a state's courts are silen…
19-109 Giovanni Montijo-Dominguez v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-07-25 Denied Amici (2) 18-usc-3553 circuit-split criminal-sentencing drug-trafficking fact-finding judicial-discretion jury-findings jury-verdict mandatory-minimum preponderance-of-evidence sentencing-discretion standard-of-proof Whether a district court's findings of fact under 18 U.S.C. 3553(f) are constrained by the findings of fact implied by the jury's verdict
19-78 John Doe, aka Cheyenne Moody Davis v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-07-16 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived appellate-review conflict-among-courts constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion jury-instructions reasonable-doubt standard-of-proof trial-court Whether a trial court in criminal proceedings must, upon request from the jury, explain the meaning of the 'beyond a reasonable doubt' standard to the…
19-35 Brandon Lee Mojica v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-07-03 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) circuit-review criminal-procedure due-process evidentiary-hearing federal-statute habeas-corpus heightened-pleading post-conviction-relief sentencing standard-of-proof united-states-v-davis Whether the Court should grant, vacate, and remand this case to the Eleventh Circuit for reconsideration in light of United States v. Davis
19-5007 Jonathan Paul Sikes v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2019-07-01 Denied Relisted (2)IFP actual-innocence credibility-of-witnesses criminal-conviction criminal-procedure due-process jackson-standard jackson-v-virginia juvenile-offender reasonable-doubt sexual-offenses standard-of-proof sufficiency-of-evidence testimony witness-credibility Does the Northern District Court's decision conflict with the holding in Jackson v. Virginia as the Northern District Court misapplied the standard in…
18-9810 Erik Ward v. California California 2019-06-27 Denied IFP attempted-murder civil-rights criminal-procedure due-process ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-instructions lesser-included-offense physical-evidence premeditation standard-of-proof sufficiency-of-evidence trial-counsel Whether trial counsel failed to provide effective assistance of counsel by not properly performing procedural and due process requirements, and not in…
18-9799 Benito Rivera v. United States First Circuit 2019-06-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review criminal-procedure due-process judicial-discretion jury-instruction jury-instructions reasonable-doubt standard-of-proof Should certiorari be granted to find that, while a district court need not define reasonable doubt, if it does so, it cannot employ a definition that …
18-1568 Cheryl Lynn Hager-Reilly v. Thomas Reilly New York 2019-06-24 Denied Response Waived constitutional-rights custody custody-proceeding due-process family-law fourteenth-amendment natural-parents parental-rights standard-of-proof supervised-visitation visitation-rights Does the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment require a certain quantum of proof before a state court, in a custody proceeding between the t…
18-9710 Lee Turner, Jr. v. Louisiana Louisiana 2019-06-18 Denied Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP batson-challenge batson-v-kentucky civil-rights comparative-juror-analysis discrimination due-process equal-protection johnson-v-california jury-selection prima-facie-case prima-facie-discrimination prosecutorial-strikes racial-bias racial-discrimination standard-of-proof Whether mere statistics are sufficient to demonstrate a prima facie case of discrimination
18-8476 Anthony Grandison v. Maryland Maryland 2019-03-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP capital-sentencing collateral-consequences constitutional-due-process criminal-procedure death-penalty due-process harmless-error jury-instructions mitigating-factors sentencing sentencing-guidelines standard-of-proof Whether the Maryland Court of Appeals erred in finding that Grandison failed to prove he suffered significant collateral consequences from his unconst…
18-8091 Alvin Jakelyn Williams v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-02-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof conclusively-apparent-from-the-record direct-appeal due-process ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-procedure standard-of-proof standard-of-review summary-rejection Whether the court of appeals summary rejection of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim on direct appeal by placing the burden on the defendant a…
18-7835 Iouri Mikhel v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-02-07 Denied IFP burden-of-proof competency competency-hearing criminal-procedure death-penalty due-process federal-criminal-procedure federal-judiciary hostage-taking judicial-discretion mental-health recusal standard-of-proof treaty-power trial-procedure Where significant evidence of competency is susceptible to conflicting inferences, what standard of proof is required for a competency hearing and wha…
18-7270 Antonio Bryant v. Illinois Illinois 2019-01-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process in-re-winship ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel involuntary-confessions involuntary-statements people-v-bryant standard-of-proof sufficiency-of-evidence Whether the Illinois Appellate Court's decision in People v. Bryant is contradictory to this Court's decisions in In re Winship, Jackson v. Denno, and…
18-7050 Javier Portillo v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-12-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP border-crossing border-search criminal-evidence criminal-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence jury knowledge-standard mens-rea narcotics-possession ninth-circuit standard-of-proof sufficiency-of-evidence trial-sufficiency Whether the Ninth Circuit's analysis of the facts was inadequate
18-6935 Joshua Donald Ewing v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-12-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-evidence criminal-procedure drug-transaction due-process electronic-device-evidence evidence jackson-v-virginia registration standard-of-proof user-identification Whether this Court's Opinion in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979) needs updating to address what constitutes sufficient evidence, in ident…
18-662 Mary McDonald v. City of Wichita, Kansas Tenth Circuit 2018-11-21 Denied Response Waived adverse-action but-for-causation but-for-cause employment-discrimination jury-instruction jury-instructions predominant-cause retaliation sole-cause sole-cause-standard standard-of-proof title-vii Does a court err by instructing a jury that a plaintiff must prove that retaliation is 'the' but-for cause of the adverse action, rather than 'a' but-…
18-6605 Joseph Perrone v. United States Seventh Circuit 2018-11-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP adversarial-proceeding appellate-review burrage-precedent causation causation-standard due-process government-assertions judicial-procedure record standard standard-of-proof united-states-v-burrage Did the lower courts refuse to follow the decision and holdings of this Court in United States v. Burrage, 571 U.S. 204, 134 S.Ct. 881, 187 L.Ed.2d 71…
18-6493 Steven D. Burke v. Neil Turner, Warden Sixth Circuit 2018-10-30 Denied IFP constitutional-law constitutional-rights criminal-defendant criminal-procedure due-process equal-protection standard-of-proof state-court Does changing the standard of proof in the state court deny a criminal defendant's due process and equal protection of law?
18-455 Aaron Joseph Emineth v. Oregon Oregon 2018-10-11 Denied Response Waived 14th-amendment burden-of-proof constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process fourteenth-amendment photo-radar standard-of-proof state-court-proceedings traffic-enforcement trial-court Did the state trial court violate Petitioner's constitutional right to Due Process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution by…
18-6171 Dion Terry Taylor v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-10-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP abuse-of-discretion appellate-review district-court-discretion district-court-proceedings inter-circuit-inconsistency pinney-dock proof-standard sentencing sentencing-enhancement sixth-circuit sixth-circuit-standard standard-of-proof standard-of-review u-s-sentencing-guidelines u.s.s.g.-§5k2.1 unraised-claims Whether the Sixth Circuit's 'Pinney Dock' standard for reviewing unraised claims should be clarified
18-6151 Claude Thelemaque v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-10-01 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP burden-of-proof cocaine-distribution conspiracy criminal-law criminal-law-procedure drug-trafficking due-process evidence evidence-admissibility jurisdiction standard-of-proof witness-testimony Whether the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Thelemaque conspired to distribute cocaine with knowledge that it would be impor…
18-5722 Keith Robert Lugo v. California California 2018-08-23 Denied Relisted (2)IFP administrative-procedures-act board-of-prison-terms constitutional-rights due-process equal-protection juvenile-offender juvenile-parole parole senate-bill-261 some-evidence standard-of-proof Whether the Board of Prison Terms Violated Senate Bill 261 for Failing to Apply the Legally Correct Standard of Analysis
18-229 Ralph Curry v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-08-22 Denied 28-usc-2255 armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split johnson-v-united-states judicial-review post-sentencing-caselaw residual-clause section-2255-motion sentencing-court sentencing-enhancement standard-of-proof successive-28-usc-2255-motion Whether a sentencing court may grant a successive 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate a sentence based on the Supreme Court's invalidation of the Armed …