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Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, et al. v. Smithsonian Institution
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 23-5196 · judgment December 28, 2023
Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a D.C. Circuit decision below and counsel who has filed here before.
Questions presented
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Whether subject matter jurisdiction exists over the Smithsonian Institution’s repatriation of artworks to a foreign state under an Ethical Return policy without using the rulemaking and public hearing processes under the Administrative Procedure Act, (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 552a, et seq.
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Whether descendants of enslaved Africans in the United States have Article III standing to challenge the repatriation by the Smithsonian Institution of 29 of the “Benin Bronzes”, artworks that were formed out of the metal ingots used by western slave traders to purchase enslaved persons from the Kingdom of Benin.
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Whether the courts below improperly held the matter to be moot where nine of the Benin Bronzes had title transferred by the Smithsonian to Nigeria but remain in the United States on long-term loan, along with other Bronzes still in U.S. title but subject to future repatriation.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Bruce Ira Afran
Attorney at Law
For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
Case
Subject area
Judicial Power (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Order
Order list, October 7, 2024 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Oct 07 2024Petition DENIED. The Chief Justice took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.
- Sep 11 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/30/2024.
- Sep 05 2024Waiver of right of respondent Smithsonian Institution to respond filed.
- May 28 2024Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 5, 2024)