Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Yi Tai Shao v. John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 19-5014 · judgment November 13, 2019
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
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Did the district court and court of appeal violate due process by failing to rule on requests for recusal and disqualification, and failure to provide any explanation as to the accused irregularities contained in the affidavit of disqualification as the grounds for recusal?
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Are lower court orders void where they were issued before the courts had ruled on motions for recusal or to disqualify the judges hearing the motions?
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Are the judges of the lower courts disqualified because of bias or appearance of bias arising from the alteration of court records and dockets, and ex parte communications?
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Did the district court violate due process or act in excess of its jurisdiction by acting on its own motion to grant relief that was not requested and to dismiss actions summarily against defendants in default?
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Did the district court violate due process or act in excess of its jurisdiction by dismissing actions summarily against defendants who had not made appearance?
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Was the district court judge required to recuse himself when he was named as a defendant in the same proceeding?
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Did the district court violate due process by dismissing the case against himself when he was in default?
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Does the American Inns of Court, in facilitating ex parte contacts between lawyers and judges, create the appearance of bias or partiality requiring recusal and disqualification of judges who are members of the American Inns of Court?
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Did the lower court violate due process by affirming judgments in favor of the American Inns of Court when its motion was made without notice?
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Is the Temple Bar Scholarship funded by the American Inns of Court a payment of economic value to judges or employees of courts that constitutes an illegal gift and creates the appearance of bias and requires recusal and disqualification?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Linda Shao
For respondent
Jeffrey B. Wall
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Jan 15 2021JUDGMENT ISSUED.
- Dec 14 2020Because the Court lacks a quorum, 28 U. S. C. §1, and since the qualified Justices are of the opinion that the case cannot be heard and determined at the next Term of the Court, the judgment is affirmed under 28 U. S. C. §2109, which provides that under these circumstances "the court shall enter its order affirming the judgment of the court from which the case was brought for review with the same effect as upon affirmance by an equally divided court." The Chief Justice, Justice Thomas, Justice Breyer, Justice Alito, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Kagan took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.
- Nov 24 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/11/2020.
- Nov 09 2020Brief amicus curiae of Mothers of Lost Children submitted.
- Nov 04 2020Request for recusal from petitioner received.
- Oct 22 2020Waiver of right of respondents Roberts, John G., et al. to respond filed.
- Jul 02 2020Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 19, 2020)