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Jefferson Morley v. Central Intelligence Agency

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 17-5114 · judgment July 9, 2018

Certiorari denied · June 24, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 8% cert probability (95% interval 5%–12%)

Before the decision, about 1.8× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a D.C. Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition).

Questions presented

  1. Should Morley v. CIA, 894 F.3d 389 (D.C. Cir.

  2. (“Morley XI”) be reversed because it is in direct conflict with Dept. of Justice v. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136 (1989)?

  3. Should the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia be reversed to preserve the proper administration of justice by requiring circuits to ensure that district courts will follow precedent and the mandate rule?

  4. Whether conflicts within the D.C. Circuit and between the D.C. Circuit and other circuits created by Morley XI require reversal in order to maintain national uniformity in the administration of the FOIA attorney’s fees law?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Dan L. Hardway
Dan L. Hardway Law Office

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Jun 24 2019
    Petition DENIED. Justice Kavanaugh took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.
  2. Jun 04 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/20/2019.
  3. May 28 2019
    Waiver of right of respondent Central Intelligence Agency to respond filed.
  4. Apr 29 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 31, 2019)