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Joseph Findler v. Christopher Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 19-2487 · judgment August 19, 2020


Certiorari denied · January 11, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 0% cert probability

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

Question presented

Do the lower federal courts have the authority to depart from the pleading standards required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and this Court's relevant decisions, when a complaint alleges unlawful and unconstitutional conduct, which, if proven true, would entail an entitlement to relief? Does a District Court have the discretion to deny any opportunity to amend a complaint at the same time it dismisses a complaint with prejudice, when there is any possibility that deficiencies may be cured through more specified pleading or without notice, a definitive ruling on the pleadings, or identification of deficiencies within the complaint prior? Can a lower federal court determine it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over a plaintiffs claims and proceed to make a determination on the merits of a plaintiffs claims or “hypothetically” impose or bypass the question of subject matter jurisdiction to make a determination on the merits of a plaintiffs claims, and then subsequently dismiss those claims with prejudice? Can a Circuit Court affirm, in whole, the holding of a District Court, which determined that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over a plaintiffs claims, when the Circuit Court’s determination that the District Court had subject matter jurisdiction over a plaintiffs claims, directly conflicts with that District Court’s holding?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Joseph Findler IV

For respondent
Jeffrey B. Wall
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Jan 11 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Dec 09 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/8/2021.
  3. Dec 07 2020
    Waiver of right of respondents Wray, Christopher, et al. to respond filed.
  4. Nov 02 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 10, 2020)