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Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al. v. Yonas Fikre

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 20-35904 · judgment May 27, 2022


Decided · March 19, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 63% cert probability (95% interval 54%–71%)

Before the decision, about 15.3× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a federal-government petitioner, counsel who has won certiorari before, and a Ninth Circuit decision below.

Question presented

Individuals are sometimes removed from the No Fly List during ongoing litigation about their placement on that list. The Fourth and Sixth Circuits have held that an individual's removal from the No Fly List moots a case when the government represents that the individual will not be placed back on the list based on currently available information. In conflict with those decisions, the Ninth Circuit held in this case that respondent's claims were not moot even though he was removed from the No Fly List in 2016 and the government provided a sworn declaration stating that he "will not be placed on the No Fly List in the future based on the currently available information." The question presented is whether respondent's claims challenging his placement on the No Fly List are moot.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General

For respondent
Lindsay C. Harrison
Jenner & Block, LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
10 merits
(1 supporting pet./neither, 9 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued January 8, 2024 — Sopan Joshi · Gadeir Abbas. Audio and transcript

Decided March 19, 2024. Opinion by Gorsuch.

Proceedings

  1. Apr 22 2024
    Judgment Issued.
  2. Mar 19 2024
    Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Gorsuch, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. Alito, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Kavanaugh, J., joined.
  3. Feb 21 2024
    Letter of petitioners Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  4. Jan 08 2024
    Argued. For petitioners: Sopan Joshi, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Gadeir Abbas, Washington, D. C.
  5. Dec 28 2023
    Reply of petitioners Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  6. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America filed. (Distributed)
  7. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed. (Distributed)
  8. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Sikh Coalition, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  9. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Justice filed. (Distributed)
  10. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  11. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  12. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amici curiae of Restore the Fourth, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed)
  13. Dec 20 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Patrick G. Eddington filed. (Distributed)
  14. Dec 19 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed. (Distributed)
  15. Dec 13 2023
    Brief of respondent Yonas Fikre filed. (Distributed)
  16. Dec 01 2023
    Sealed material from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon electronically available with the Clerk.
  17. Nov 30 2023
    CIRCULATED
  18. Nov 17 2023
    Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
  19. Nov 17 2023
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, January 8, 2024.
  20. Nov 17 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in support of neither party filed.
  21. Nov 17 2023
    Record received from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The record is electronic and available on PACER.
  22. Nov 13 2023
    Brief of petitioners filed.
  23. Oct 30 2023
    Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioners GRANTED.
  24. Oct 13 2023
    Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al.
  25. Sep 29 2023
    Petition GRANTED.
  26. Sep 06 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/26/2023.
  27. Sep 05 2023
    Reply of petitioners Federal Bureau of Investigation, et al. filed.
  28. Aug 21 2023
    Brief of respondent Yonas Fikre in opposition filed.
  29. Jul 03 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including August 21, 2023.
  30. Jun 30 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from July 6, 2023 to August 21, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
  31. Jun 02 2023
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 6, 2023)
  32. Mar 16 2023
    Application (22A822) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from April 4, 2023 to June 2, 2023, submitted to Justice Kagan.
  33. Mar 16 2023
    Application (22A822) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until June 2, 2023.