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Bryan Christopher Marshall v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 16-4594 · judgment August 29, 2018

Certiorari denied · February 19, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 5% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, counsel who has filed here before, and a Fourth Circuit decision below.

Questions presented

Petitioner Bryan Marshall had the incredibly bad fortune to fall victim to two very different, and very wrong, rulings. Each ruling defied this Court’s precedent and represented a lower court struggling with authority that must be clarified to avoid continuing confusion. Marshall protested police action in a constitutionally-protected manner. Despite that protection, he was arrested and searched. The search revealed a gun which triggered a harsh Armed Career Criminal Act sentence based on prior convictions not properly considered serious drug offenses under federal law. Having faced incorrect legal decisions related to both the beginning and end of his case, Marshall presents these questions to the Court:

  1. Whether a state drug statute that lists a variety of means by which it can be violated, including one which does not meet the definition of a drug distribution crime, is categorically a predicate offense for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act?

  2. Whether a crowd protesting police action can remove an individual’s speech from the protections of the First Amendment with presenting an immediate threat to law enforcement officers?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Joshua Snow Kendrick
Kendrick & Leonard, P.C.

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Subject area
Criminal Procedure (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Order
Order list, February 19, 2019 · Certiorari denied

Proceedings

  1. Feb 19 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jan 23 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/15/2019.
  3. Jan 15 2019
    Waiver of right of respondent UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to respond filed.
  4. Jan 02 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 4, 2019)