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Gerald L. Ferreyra, et al. v. Nathaniel Hicks

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 22-1339 · judgment March 29, 2023


Certiorari denied · January 8, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 8% cert probability (95% interval 5%–12%)

Before the decision, about 1.9× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel with five or more prior petitions here, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition).

Questions presented

Because “recognizing a Bivens cause of action is ‘a disfavored judicial activity,’” it is settled that no Bivens action exists where “there is any rational reason . . . to think that Congress is better suited to ‘weigh the costs and benefits of allowing a damages action to proceed.’” Egbert v. Boule, 142 S. Ct. 1793, 1803 (2022) (quoting Ziglar v. Abbasi, 582 U.S. 120, 135, 136 (2017)). To guide lower courts, this Court has identified “several examples of new [Bivens] contexts” where “a court is not undoubtedly better positioned than Congress to create a damages action.” Id. Two such examples are when the “legal mandate under which the officer was operating” or “the constitutional right at issue” differs from that in Bivens, which involved federal narcotics officers conducting a warrantless search and arrest inside a home without probable cause. Abbasi, 582 U.S. at 140. The questions presented are:

  1. Whether a cause of action exists under Bivens for Fourth Amendment claims against federal officers operating under a different legal mandate than the narcotics officers in Bivens.

  2. Whether a cause of action exists under Bivens for Fourth Amendment claims not involving a search or arrest inside a home.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jeffrey S. Bucholtz
King & Spalding LLP

For respondent
Yiyang Wu
Relman Colfax PLLC

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage

Linked docket
23A133

Proceedings

  1. Jan 08 2024
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Dec 20 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/5/2024.
  3. Dec 14 2023
    Reply of petitioners Officer Gerald L. Ferreyra, in his individual capacity, et al. filed.
  4. Dec 04 2023
    Brief of respondent Nathaniel Hicks in opposition filed.
  5. Nov 03 2023
    Brief amicus curiae of Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association filed.
  6. Oct 19 2023
    Brief amici curiae of The National Fraternal Order of Police, et al. filed.
  7. Oct 16 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 4, 2023.
  8. Oct 11 2023
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 3, 2023 to December 4, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
  9. Oct 04 2023
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/27/2023.
  10. Oct 04 2023
    Response Requested. (Due November 3, 2023)
  11. Sep 28 2023
    Waiver of right of respondent Nathaniel Hicks to respond filed.
  12. Sep 22 2023
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 30, 2023)
  13. Aug 15 2023
    Application (23A133) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until September 22, 2023.
  14. Aug 11 2023
    Application (23A133) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 24, 2023 to September 22, 2023, submitted to The Chief Justice.