Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
United States v. Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, No. 16-6001 · judgment July 31, 2020
Before the decision, about 20.5× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a federal-government petitioner, counsel who has won certiorari before, and a First Circuit decision below.
Questions presented
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Whether the court of appeals erred in concluding that respondent’s capital sentences must be vacated on the ground that the district court, during its 21-day voir dire, did not ask each prospective juror for a specific accounting of the pretrial media coverage that he or she had read, heard, or seen about respondent’s case.
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Whether the district court committed reversible error at the penalty phase of respondent’s trial by excluding evidence that respondent’s older brother was allegedly involved in different crimes two years before the offenses for which respondent was convicted.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
For respondent
Ginger D. Anders
Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 7 conferences
Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage · 9 merits
(4 supporting pet./neither, 5 respondent)
Argument & decision
Argued October 13, 2021 — Eric J. Feigin · Ginger D. Anders. Audio and transcript
Decided March 4, 2022. Opinion by Thomas.
Proceedings
- Dec 21 2022Record returned to the U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit (1 box of sealed materials).
- Apr 05 2022judgment issued.
- Mar 04 2022Judgment REVERSED. Thomas, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Barrett, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Gorsuch, J., joined. Breyer, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Kagan, J., joined, and in which Sotomayor, J., joined except as to Part II–C.
- Oct 13 2021Argued. For petitioner: Eric J. Feigin, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Ginger D. Anders, Washington, D. C.
- Oct 04 2021Letter of petitioner clarifying joint appendix arrangement filed.
- Sep 29 2021The record received from the U.S.D.C. Dist. of Massachusetts has been electronically filed.
- Sep 20 2021Reply of petitioner United States filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 14 2021Record received from the U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit (1 Box - including several CDs and thumb-drives of sealed material). Notation that district court was instructed to transmit its record material to the Clerk.
- Aug 27 2021Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Inc., National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Rutherford Institute filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 27 2021Brief amici curiae of Retired Federal Judges and Former Federal Prosecutors filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 27 2021Brief amici curiae of Shirin Bakhshay, Tarika Daftary-Kapur, Yael Danieli, Angela Jones, Margaret Bull Kovera, Steven D. Penrod & Christine L. Ruva filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 27 2021Brief amicus curiae of Michael J.Z. Mannheimer filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 25 2021Brief amici curiae of Interested Evidence and Sentencing Law Professors filed. ((Distributed)
- Aug 20 2021Brief of respondent Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 03 2021CIRCULATED
- Aug 02 2021Motion for leave to file Volume III of the joint appendix under seal with redacted copies for the public record GRANTED.
- Jul 28 2021Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit.
- Jul 13 2021ARGUMENT SET FOR Wednesday, October 13, 2021.
- Jun 21 2021Brief amicus curiae of American Bar Association filed.
- Jun 21 2021Brief amicus curiae of Criminal Justice Legal Foundation filed.
- Jun 21 2021Brief amicus curiae of The National Fraternal Order of Police filed.
- Jun 14 2021Joint appendix Volume I and II filed. (Statement of costs filed)
- Jun 14 2021Brief of petitioner United States filed.
- Jun 14 2021Motion for leave to file Volume III of the joint appendix under seal with redacted copies for the public record filed by petitioner United States.
- Jun 14 2021Joint appendix Volume III (Redacted) filed. (Docketed 8/2/21).
- May 05 2021Brief amici curiae of James Fetzer, Ph. D., et al. filed.
- Apr 28 2021Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, United States
- Apr 22 2021Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev
- Apr 15 2021Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including June 14, 2021. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including August 20, 2021.
- Mar 26 2021Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
- Mar 22 2021Petition GRANTED.
- Mar 15 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/19/2021.
- Mar 01 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/5/2021.
- Feb 22 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/26/2021.
- Feb 12 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/19/2021.
- Jan 19 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/22/2021.
- Jan 11 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/15/2021.
- Dec 23 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/8/2021.
- Dec 23 2020Reply of petitioner United States filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 18 2020Letter waiving the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition for a writ of certiorari pursuant to Rule 15.5. filed.
- Dec 17 2020Brief of respondent Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev in opposition filed.
- Nov 24 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted in part; the time is extended to and including December 17, 2020.
- Nov 23 2020United States opposition to respondent's 30-day extension request not accepted for filing. (November 23, 2020 - corrected letter to be submitted)
- Nov 23 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 7, 2020 to January 6, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
- Nov 23 2020Response to motion for an extension of time from petitioner United States filed.
- Nov 05 2020Brief amicus curiae of The National Fraternal Order of Police filed.
- Oct 21 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 7, 2020.
- Oct 20 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 5, 2020 to December 7, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
- Oct 06 2020Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 5, 2020)