Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Barry Michaels v. Matthew G. Whitaker, Acting Attorney General, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 17-15279 · judgment November 3, 2017

Certiorari denied · January 14, 2019
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

Two important, unresolved federal questions arose from this Court’s landmark decision, District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) (“Heller” throughout). The questions resonate throughout the circuit courts with uneven resolution and application, adversely affecting millions of felons including Petitioner, that have served their sentences and have returned to free society, living responsible lives in full compliance with the law. Depending on how these questions are answered, determines whether a felon is entitled to lodge an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of a felon disarmament law such as 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1). The questions presented are as follows:

  1. What does the phrase “law-abiding, responsible citizens” mean?

  2. What does it mean to say that “longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons” are “presumptively lawful regulatory measures?”

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Michael Eliot Zapin
Law Offices of Michael E. Zapin

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Jan 14 2019
    Motion to substitute DENIED.
  2. Jan 14 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  3. Dec 26 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/11/2019.
  4. Dec 21 2018
    Reply of petitioner Barry Michaels filed.
  5. Dec 17 2018
    Brief of respondents Matthew G. Whitaker, Acting Attorney General, et al. in opposition filed.
  6. Nov 28 2018
    Reply in support of motion to substitute filed by petitioner.
  7. Nov 26 2018
    Response to motion to substitute from respondents filed.
  8. Nov 26 2018
    Amicus brief of Morton Rosenberg not accepted for filing. (November 29, 2018) (Corrected version submitted)
  9. Nov 26 2018
    Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Morton Rosenberg. (11/29/2018)
  10. Nov 16 2018
    Motion to substitute filed by petitioner.
  11. Nov 09 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 17, 2018.
  12. Nov 07 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 16, 2018 to December 17, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
  13. Jun 27 2018
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 16, 2018)