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Morgan Hansen v. Thomas Black

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, No. 16-4162 · judgment September 18, 2017


Certiorari denied · May 14, 2018
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

  1. Did the Eighth Circuit err in holding that Trooper Black was entitled to qualified immunity on Ms. Hansen’s claim of illegal seizure under the Fourth Amendment for Trooper Black’s fatal shooting of Ms. Hansen’s pet dog because there was no case exactly on point in determining that the law was not clearly established?

  2. Did the Eighth Circuit err in holding that Trooper Black’s fatal shooting of Ms. Hansen’s pet dog was objectively reasonable by applying an excessive force analysis in that a warrantless seizure of personal property is presumed to be unreasonable and is unreasonable when it is more intrusive than necessary?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
James W. Schottel Jr.
Schottel & Associates, P.C.

For respondent
Julie Marie Blake
Missouri Attorney General's Office

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Linked docket
17A811

Proceedings

  1. May 14 2018
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Apr 24 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/10/2018.
  3. Apr 13 2018
    Waiver of right of respondent Thomas Black to respond filed.
  4. Apr 05 2018
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 11, 2018)
  5. Mar 13 2018
    Application (17A811) granted by Justice Gorsuch extending the time to file until April 5, 2018.
  6. Mar 09 2018
    Application (17A811) to extend further the time from March 22, 2018 to April 5, 2018, submitted to Justice Gorsuch.
  7. Feb 01 2018
    Application (17A811) granted by Justice Gorsuch extending the time to file until March 22, 2018.
  8. Jan 30 2018
    Application (17A811) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from February 4, 2018 to March 22, 2018, submitted to Justice Gorsuch.