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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: 3% cert probability

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

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

Conference history
Distributed for 4 conferences

Proceedings

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).
Mar 01 2021
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/5/2021.
Feb 22 2021
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/26/2021.
Jan 27 2021
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/19/2021.
Nov 20 2020
Reply of petitioner Dakai Chavis filed.
Nov 09 2020
Motion to delay distribution of the petition for a writ certiorari until November 24, 2020 granted.
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.
Oct 28 2020
Brief of respondent Delaware in opposition filed.
Sep 28 2020
Response Requested. (Due October 28, 2020)
Sep 23 2020
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/9/2020.
Sep 22 2020
Waiver of right of respondent Delaware to respond filed.
Sep 04 2020
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 13, 2020)