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Dakai Chavis v. Delaware

Paid petition · Supreme Court of Delaware, No. 520, 2018 · judgment April 7, 2020

Certiorari denied · March 8, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 5% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before and a petition citing three to ten dissents, and down for a state or local-government respondent.

Question presented

Whether the Confrontation Clause permits DNA evidence obtained as the result of a multi-analyst testing process to be introduced against the defendant at trial through one of the testing analysts who has no personal knowledge of the basis for the out-of-court testimonial statements made by the other nontestifying analysts who participated in the testing.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
E. Joshua Rosenkranz
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

For respondent
Maria Teresa Knoll
Office of the Attorney General State of Delaware,

Case

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

Conference history
Distributed for 4 conferences

Order
Order list, March 8, 2021 · Certiorari denied

Proceedings

  1. Mar 08 2021
    Petition DENIED. Justice Gorsuch, dissenting from the denial of certiorari: I dissent for the reasons set out in Stuart v. Alabama, 586 U. S. ___ (2018) (Gorsuch, J., dissenting).
  2. Mar 01 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/5/2021.
  3. Feb 22 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/26/2021.
  4. Jan 27 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/19/2021.
  5. Nov 20 2020
    Reply of petitioner Dakai Chavis filed.
  6. Nov 09 2020
    Motion to delay distribution of the petition for a writ certiorari until November 24, 2020 granted.
  7. Nov 05 2020
    Motion of petitioner to delay distribution of the petition for a writ of certiorari under Rule 15.5 from November 17, 2020 to November 24, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
  8. Oct 28 2020
    Brief of respondent Delaware in opposition filed.
  9. Sep 28 2020
    Response Requested. (Due October 28, 2020)
  10. Sep 23 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/9/2020.
  11. Sep 22 2020
    Waiver of right of respondent Delaware to respond filed.
  12. Sep 04 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 13, 2020)