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Mark Joseph Uhlenbrock v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 23-50664, 23-50714 · judgment December 31, 2024


Certiorari denied · June 30, 2025
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

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

Questions presented

  1. Can a Federal Cyberstalking prosecution pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2261A be used to target repeated communications on the sole basis that they would be “reasonably expected to cause substantial emotional distress” in accordance with the First Amendment?

  2. Whether a defendant’s conviction under § 2261A may be affirmed by an appellate court based on a defamation theory not charged in the indictment or submitted to the jury.

  3. Whether the Fifth Circuit’s defamation finding in Uhlenbrock conflicts with the mens rea standards articulated in Counterman v. Colorado and Garrison v. Louisiana.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Shannon Willis Locke
The Locke Law Group

For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Linked docket
24A1017

Proceedings

  1. Jun 30 2025
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jun 10 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/26/2025.
  3. Jun 05 2025
    Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
  4. May 28 2025
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 30, 2025)
  5. Apr 22 2025
    Application (24A1017) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until May 28, 2025.
  6. Apr 17 2025
    Application (24A1017) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from April 28, 2025 to June 27, 2025, submitted to Justice Alito.