Supreme Court Report

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David Snope, et al. v. Anthony G. Brown, in His Official Capacity as Attorney General of Maryland, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 21-1255 · judgment August 6, 2024


Certiorari denied · June 2, 2025
Pre-decision estimate: 41% cert probability (95% interval 28%–56%)

Before the decision, about 10× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a petition filed soon after the judgment below, counsel who has won certiorari before, and a circuit split argued in the petition, and down for a state or local-government respondent.

Question presented

Whether the Constitution permits the State of Maryland to ban semiautomatic rifles that are in common use for lawful purposes, including the most popular rifle in America.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
David H. Thompson
Cooper & Kirk, PLLC

For respondent
Ryan Robert Dietrich
Office of the Attorney General of Maryland

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 16 conferences

Amicus briefs
10 cert-stage

Argument & decision

Decided June 2, 2025.

Proceedings

  1. Jun 02 2025
    Petition DENIED. Justice Alito and Justice Gorsuch would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari. Statement of Justice Kavanaugh respecting the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion) Justice Thomas, dissenting from the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
  2. May 27 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/29/2025.
  3. May 19 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/22/2025.
  4. May 12 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/15/2025.
  5. Apr 28 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/2/2025.
  6. Apr 21 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/25/2025.
  7. Apr 14 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/17/2025.
  8. Mar 31 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/4/2025.
  9. Mar 24 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/28/2025.
  10. Mar 17 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/21/2025.
  11. Mar 03 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/7/2025.
  12. Feb 24 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/28/2025.
  13. Feb 14 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/21/2025.
  14. Jan 21 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/24/2025.
  15. Jan 13 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/17/2025.
  16. Jan 06 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2025.
  17. Dec 11 2024
    Rescheduled.
  18. Nov 26 2024
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/13/2024.
  19. Nov 25 2024
    Reply of petitioners David Snope, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  20. Nov 12 2024
    Brief of respondents Anthony G. Brown, Attorney General of Maryland, et al. in opposition filed.
  21. Oct 11 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted in part and the time is further extended to and including November 12, 2024.
  22. Oct 09 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 23, 2024 to November 22, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
  23. Oct 09 2024
    Response to motion to extend the time to file a response filed by petitioners.
  24. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of National Rifle Association of America filed.
  25. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Idaho, et al. filed.
  26. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Second Amendment Law Center, Inc., et al. filed.
  27. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. filed.
  28. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of The Buckeye Institute filed.
  29. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amici curiae of International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers, et al. filed.
  30. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Knife Rights, Inc. filed.
  31. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, Inc. filed.
  32. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amicus curiae of the National Association for Gun Rights filed.
  33. Sep 23 2024
    Brief amici curiae of Gun Owners of America, Inc., et al. filed.
  34. Sep 12 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including October 23, 2024.
  35. Sep 11 2024
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 23, 2024 to October 23, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
  36. Aug 21 2024
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 23, 2024)