state-law-interpretation

41 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-556 William Loginov v. Sheridan Memorial Hospital, aka Memorial Hospital of Sheridan County, et al. Tenth Circuit 2025-11-06 Denied article-iii diversity-jurisdiction erie-doctrine federal-courts rules-of-decision-act state-law-interpretation Whether Article III, the Rules of Decision Act, and the Erie doctrine mandate that federal courts sitting in diversity must certify novel state law qu…
25-5913 Rashun Rafael Suncar v. United States Fourth Circuit 2025-10-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-court-judgment circuit-split controlled-substances drug-statute federal-interpretation state-law-interpretation 1a. Whether a court of appeals may disregard an unpublished but considered judgment of Pennsylvania's intermediate appellate court interpreting its ow…
24-874 Douglas A. Kelley, in His Capacity as the Trustee of the BMO Litigation Trust v. BMO Harris Bank National Association, as Successor to M&I Marshall and Ilsley Bank Eighth Circuit 2025-02-14 Denied Amici (2) bankruptcy-code eighth-circuit-ruling federal-bankruptcy-policy in-pari-delicto receiver-claims state-law-interpretation Whether the Eighth Circuit should have certified the controlling question of Minnesota law to the Minnesota Supreme Court, rather than fashion a novel…
24-5484 Irvin Abreu v. United States First Circuit 2024-09-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach circuit-split divisibility modified-categorical-approach sentencing-enhancement state-law-interpretation Whether a federal court may reject state appellate authority in determining a state statute's divisibility under the categorical approach and whether …
23-1126 David Streeter, et al. v. USAA General Indemnity Company Ninth Circuit 2024-04-17 Denied Response Waived certification-of-questions certification-of-state-law comity cooperative-federalism divergent-decisions diversity-jurisdiction efficient-federal-practice erie-doctrine insurance-law judicial-comity lehman-bros-v-schein state-law-interpretation Have Ninth Circuit Panels and Montana federal district courts abused their discretion by denying certification to the Montana Supreme Court of 'first …
23-6892 Clifford Laines, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2024-03-05 Denied Relisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split rodriguez-v-united-states sentencing-regime serious-drug-offense state-law-interpretation state-sentencing-regime statutory-maximum Does the 'maximum term of imprisonment... prescribed by law' for a prior state offense under the Armed Career Criminal Act's 'serious drug offense' de…
23-6548 Andrew Joseph Avitable, aka Andrew Joseph Larson v. Wyoming Wyoming 2024-01-23 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP access-to-courts civil-rights constitutional-rights contract-breach due-process equal-protection forma-pauperis indigent judicial-immunity pro-se-litigation state-law-interpretation Can a State create policies, rules, and/or laws that contradict the State's and US Constitutions; and create a situation in which only those with the …
22-7765 Michael Tanner Lank v. Oklahoma Oklahoma 2023-06-12 Denied IFP civil-rights constitutional-violation criminal-procedure due-process federal-constitution oklahoma-court-of-criminal-appeals petition-for-writ-of-certiorari state-constitution state-law-interpretation trial-by-jury Is the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Court, Rule 5.5 in conformity with the DUE PROCESS OF LAW standards of the United States Constitution?
22-7609 Akiaz Marqiez King v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-05-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2255 federal-habeas federal-procedure habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel reed-v-goertz sixth-amendment state-law-interpretation statute-of-limitations Whether the one-year statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. § 2255(f) for filing a federal habeas petition commenced when the state trial court denied…
22-7312 Jackie Mitchell v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-04-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-court-panel criminal-history domestic-violence federal-circuit-court federal-court-interpretation federal-implications panel-decision sixth-circuit-rule state-court-interpretation state-law state-law-interpretation Question Presented To resolve a federal defendant's criminal history, must a circuit court panel use the current state court interpretations of state …
22-7079 Henry Joseph Stevens v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-03-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act criminal-statute due-process federal-courts physical-force state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation texas-penal-code violent-felony Whether the ACCA's demand for certainty constrains a federal court's interpretation of conflicting state-law decisions
22-6578 Derrick Tyrone Moore v. United States Fifth Circuit 2023-01-19 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act burglary-statute federal-courts generic-offense mens-rea precedent state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation violent-felony Whether there is a reasonable probability of different result if the court below is directed to reconsider its judgment in light of Wooden v. United S…
22-424 The Cordish Companies, Inc. v. Affiliated FM Insurance Company Fourth Circuit 2022-11-07 Denied Response Waived certified-question civil-procedure conflict-of-laws erie-doctrine federalism insurance insurance-coverage judicial-procedure maryland state-law-interpretation west-virginia Whether the Fourth Circuit violated the constitutional principles set forth in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938), which protect each s…
21-7907 Christopher Jo Stringer v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-05-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act burglary-definition categorical-approach generic-offense state-law-interpretation taylor-standard taylor-v-united-states united-states-v-shepard Whether the categorical approach requires federal courts to defer to a state supreme court's interpretation of state law when identifying the elements…
21-1358 Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma, Inc., dba Goodwill Career Pathways Institute v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company Tenth Circuit 2022-04-18 Denied Response Waived civil-procedure covid-19 covid-related-claims direct-physical-loss erie-doctrine federalism insurance insurance-coverage state-law state-law-interpretation Whether federal courts are violating Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938), and principles of federalism in uniformly refusing to seek guidance …
21-7451 Michael Shawn Bell v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-03-24 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act burglary-statute categorical-approach generic-offense sentencing-enhancement state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation taylor-v-united-states Whether the ACCA's demand for certainty applies to federal courts' application and interpretation of state-court decisional law
21-7333 Andrew Michael Penny v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-03-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP almendarez-torres-v-united-states armed-career-criminal-act burglary-statute categorical-approach generic-offense sentencing-enhancement state-law-interpretation taylor-v-united-states violent-felony Whether the categorical approach requires federal courts to defer to a state supreme court's interpretation of state law when identifying the elements…
21-7329 Von Lester Taylor v. Robert Powell, Warden Tenth Circuit 2022-03-09 Denied IFP certification comity federal-court federalism judicial-certification legal-ambiguity state-law state-law-interpretation tenth-amendment Does a federal court violate principles of federalism and comity enshrined in the Tenth Amendment by selecting one possible interpretation of an ambig…
21-7264 Samuel Lee Gore v. Gus J. Skropas, et al. Ninth Circuit 2022-03-03 Denied IFP 14th-amendment civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-challenge criminal-conviction due-process equal-protection federal-review habeas-corpus judicial-procedure standing state-law-interpretation Does the United States Constitution guarantee a United States citizen due process and equal protection under the law?
21-6320 Devon Carl Jordan-McFeely v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-11-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP ambiguous-statute criminal-procedure divisibility divisibility-inquiry federal-court federal-sentencing-enhancement sentencing-enhancement state-court state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-ambiguity supreme-court-precedent Whether a federal court may certify the divisibility inquiry to state court and rely on the newly created judicial interpretation of state law to enha…
21-6162 Antwain T. Sales v. Tennessee Tennessee 2021-11-03 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP civil-procedure constitutional-interpretation criminal-procedure due-process evidence-sufficiency habeas-corpus judicial-review jurisdiction jurisdictional-authority standing state-courts state-law-interpretation Whether the lower courts in Tennessee exceeded the jurisdiction conferred and acted illegally
21-5897 Shahram Shakouri v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2021-10-06 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP brady-violation constitutional-rights due-process false-testimony federal-habeas habeas-corpus prosecutorial-misconduct right-to-present-defense state-law state-law-interpretation whether-unknowing-use-of-false-testimony-violates-due-process
21-5505 Maurice Lamont Davis v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-08-26 Denied IFP armed-career-criminal-act burglary-statute categorical-approach demand-for-certainty felon-in-possession felon-status intent-element state-law-interpretation sufficiency-of-evidence Whether a defendant's trial stipulation that he was a felon at the time he possessed a firearm is sufficient evidence that he knew of his status at th…
21-70 Gary E. Albright, et al. v. United States Federal Circuit 2021-07-19 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived certification constitutional-federalism erie-doctrine fifth-amendment railroad-deed state-law state-law-interpretation takings-claim takings-clause Does constitutional federalism require certification of state law issue?
20-7770 In Re Sakima Iban Salih El Bey 2021-04-15 Dismissed Relisted (2)IFP administrative-procedure administrative-procedures-act article-4-section-2 civil-rights constitutional-exemption due-process jurisdictional-authority law-enforcement-conduct privileges-and-immunities state-law-interpretation state-trust Does the Constitution of Arkansas make provision to deny a person that is exempt from a 'driver's license' in Arkansas who is in compliance with state…
20-7242 Xavier Lister v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-02-25 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act burglary-statute categorical-approach generic-offense shepard-v-united-states state-law-interpretation taylor-definition taylor-v-united-states Whether the categorical approach requires federal courts to defer to a state supreme court's interpretation of state law, including its determination …
20-6979 Eddie Charles Webb v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-01-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act burglary-statute categorical-approach generic-offense intent-element shepard-v-united-states state-law-interpretation taylor-v-united-states Whether the categorical approach requires federal courts to defer to a state supreme court's interpretation of state law when determining if a prior c…
20-750 Timothy P. Murphy v. Susan Stacy, Circuit Court Judge Eleventh Circuit 2020-12-03 Denied Response Waived civil-procedure constitutional-rights due-process erie-doctrine federal-courts state-law-interpretation subject-matter-jurisdiction summary-judgment swift-v-tyson Whether federal courts can disregard Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins
20-5658 Martin Racioppi v. United States Third Circuit 2020-09-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach criminal-law criminal-procedure divisibility divisible-statute mathis-standard mathis-v-united-states robbery-statute state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation third-circuit Whether the Third Circuit's approach to determining that New Jersey's second-degree robbery statute is divisible is contrary to Mathis v. United State…
20-262 Bridget Alex, et al. v. T-Mobile USA, Incorporated, et al. Fifth Circuit 2020-09-02 Denied Response Waived certification civil-rights due-process erie-doctrine federal-jurisdiction federalism judicial-discretion state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation tort-claims-act Whether the Fifth Circuit abused its discretion by refusing to certify the case to the Texas Supreme Court
19-7520 Edward Steven Feeney, Jr. v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-01-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach circuit-split criminal-law due-process eighth-circuit judicial-precedent lowest-level-conduct lowest-level-of-conduct rule-of-lenity state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation Whether the Eighth Circuit properly considered the 'lowest level of conduct' as required under this Court's precedent for the categorical approach, an…
19-923 Timothy Barnes v. Chase Home Finance, LLC, et al. Ninth Circuit 2020-01-24 Denied Response Waived civil-rights due-process federal-circuit-court federal-statutes ownership-interest principal-dwelling property-rights rescission-rights state-law state-law-interpretation truth-in-lending-act Does a consumer have the right to exercise federal TILA rescission protection where applicable state law has defined his ownership interest in a way t…
19-870 Jeana K. Reinbold, Chapter 7 Trustee of the Estate of 180 Equipment, LLC v. First Midwest Bank Seventh Circuit 2020-01-14 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived circuit-court-split circuit-split federal-court-interpretation federal-interpretation notice-of-collateral secured-creditor security-interest state-law state-law-interpretation uniform-commercial-code Whether the decision of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, that a secured creditor need not give any public notice of the collateral securing its s…
19-6862 Dalton Betsinger v. United States Eighth Circuit 2019-12-05 Denied IFP categorical-approach circuit-split criminal-law eighth-amendment eighth-circuit fifth-circuit lowest-level-of-conduct state-law state-law-interpretation statutory-interpretation Whether the Eighth Circuit properly considered the 'lowest level of conduct' as required under this Court's precedent for the categorical approach, an…
19-463 Wilbur-Ellis Company LLC v. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, et al. Eighth Circuit 2019-10-08 Denied appellate-review comity comity-federalism comity-federalism-state-judicial-functions federal-court federal-court-override federalism interlocutory-orders judicial-function sealing-order state-court state-court-sealing state-court-sealing-order state-law-interpretation Whether a district court may override the order of a state court sealing a court filing necessary to resolve a motion in the state court, by compellin…
18-1357 Randy Cummings, et al. v. Celina Bussey, et al. Tenth Circuit 2019-04-29 Denied Response Waived 42-usc-1983 clearly-established-law discretionary-function federal-court-interpretation federal-court-review ministerial-exception property-rights qualified-immunity state-law state-law-interpretation state-supreme-court-precedent statutory-interpretation Whether a federal court interpreting a state statute can conclude that it grants the state agency discretion such that the 'ministerial exception' to …
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…
18-6085 Gerald Daniels v. Janet Dowling, Warden Tenth Circuit 2018-09-24 Denied IFP constitutional-issue constitutional-law constitutional-review equal-protection evasion federal-court federal-courts habeas-corpus race-discrimination state-court state-law state-law-interpretation Whether a federal habeas court may reexamine a state court's interpretation of state law when it is an obvious subterfuge to evade consideration of a …
18-5971 Donavan T. Fortin v. Brad Cain, Superintendent, Snake River Correctional Institution Ninth Circuit 2018-09-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP actual-innocence due-process estelle-v-mcguire evidentiary-hearing federal-courts habeas-corpus habeas-corpus-principles judicial-review ninth-circuit state-court state-law state-law-interpretation williams-v-taylor Whether the Ninth Circuit's decision, which interpreted state law contrary to the state court's ruling, conflicts with Estelle v. McGuire
18-261 Jose Guadalupe Cebreros v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-08-29 Denied 21-usc-841-b-1-a 21-usc-841(b)(1)(a) california california-proposition-47 drug-offense-enhancement federal-recidivist-sentence-enhancement federal-sentencing habeas-relief prior-state-felony-drug-offense recidivist-sentencing retroactive-drug-sentencing-reforms state-law-interpretation Is a federal recidivist sentence enhancement based on a prior state 'felony drug offense' under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) invalidated when the underlyi…
18-22 Young Sung Lee, et al. v. Katelyn Garvey Second Circuit 2018-07-05 Denied civil-procedure directed-verdict diversity-jurisdiction federal-courts judicial-discretion meniscus-injury new-york-insurance-law new-york-law permanent-injury personal-injury rule-50-dismissal rule-50(a) rule-50a serious-injury-threshold state-law-interpretation summary-judgment Whether the Magistrate Judge erred in granting a Rule 50(a) motion for directed verdict