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James LeBlanc v. Brian McNeal

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 22-30180 · judgment January 5, 2024


Certiorari denied · October 7, 2024
Pre-decision estimate: 9% cert probability (95% interval 6%–12%)

Before the decision, about 2.2× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Fifth Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition).

Question presented

A prisoner’s “attack on the legality of [his] physical confinement itself … is the long-established function of habeas corpus.” Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 488 n.8 (1973); see Wilkinson v. Dotson, 544 U.S. 74, 79 (2005) (an “attack[] [on] the very duration of physical confinement … lies at the core of habeas corpus” (cleaned up)). The question presented is: Whether, consistent with Preiser and its progeny, a state prisoner who alleges that he was unlawfully confined beyond his proper release date may sue for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jorge Benjamin Aguinaga
Louisiana Department of Justice

For respondent
Kelsi Brown Corkran
Institute for Constitutional Advocacy & Protection

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage

Linked docket
23A1017

Proceedings

  1. Oct 07 2024
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Sep 11 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/30/2024.
  3. Sep 09 2024
    Reply of petitioner James LeBlanc filed. (Distributed)
  4. Aug 26 2024
    Brief of respondent Brian McNeal in opposition filed.
  5. Aug 08 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Texas, et al. filed.
  6. Jul 26 2024
    Response Requested. (Due August 26, 2024)
  7. Jul 24 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/30/2024.
  8. Jul 09 2024
    Waiver of right of respondent Brian McNeal to respond filed.
  9. Jul 05 2024
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 8, 2024)
  10. May 17 2024
    Application (23A1017) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until July 5, 2024.
  11. May 13 2024
    Application (23A1017) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from May 21, 2024 to July 20, 2024, submitted to Justice Alito.