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Mark Anthony Spell v. Louisiana

Paid petition · Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit, No. 2020 KW 0867 · judgment February 18, 2021


Certiorari denied · December 6, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

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

Questions presented

This case presents the following questions:

  1. Does the Sixth Amendment permit the prosecution of a misdemeanor speeding ticket after the lapse of more than twenty years if there is no evidence the Defendant absconded from the jurisdiction, or the State took steps to prosecute?

  2. Does Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment Due Process allow a state to hold and prosecute a routine misdemeanor in perpetuity if the State statute allows such a circumstance?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jeffrey Scott Wittenbrink

For respondent
David A Conachen
Prosecutor, City of Zachary

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Dec 06 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Nov 16 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/3/2021.
  3. Nov 02 2021
    Waiver of right of respondent Louisiana to respond filed.
  4. Oct 08 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 12, 2021)