Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Otha Ray Flowers v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 20-60056 · judgment July 30, 2021


Certiorari denied · May 16, 2022
Pre-decision estimate: 20% cert probability (95% interval 15%–26%)

Before the decision, about 4.8× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a Fifth Circuit decision below, and a circuit split argued in the petition.

Question presented

In Terry v. Ohio, this Court held that officers may, consistent with the Fourth Amendment, briefly detain a person based on reasonable suspicion of involvement in criminal activity. 392 U.S. 1, 30 (1968). This Court subsequently clarified in Illinois v. Wardlow that a suspect’s mere presence in a high-crime area, without more, is an insufficient basis for reasonable suspicion. 528 U.S. 119, 124 (2000). The question presented is: Whether conduct that is consistent with either lawful or unlawful behavior, and in which law-abiding members of the general public routinely engage, can establish reasonable suspicion justifying a Terry stop merely because it occurs in a high-crime area. (I)

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jeremy Charles Marwell
Vinson & Elkins LLP

For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Linked docket
21A82

Proceedings

  1. May 16 2022
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Apr 20 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/12/2022.
  3. Apr 18 2022
    Reply of petitioner Otha Ray Flowers filed. (Distributed)
  4. Apr 01 2022
    Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
  5. Feb 18 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including April 1, 2022.
  6. Feb 17 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 4, 2022 to April 1, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
  7. Jan 21 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 4, 2022.
  8. Jan 20 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 4, 2022 to March 4, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
  9. Dec 29 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including February 4, 2022.
  10. Dec 28 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 5, 2022 to February 4, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
  11. Nov 30 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 5, 2022)
  12. Oct 18 2021
    Application (21A82) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until November 30, 2021.
  13. Oct 13 2021
    Application (21A82) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from October 28, 2021 to November 30, 2021, submitted to Justice Alito.