Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Joseph R. Johnson, Jr. v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 22-1970 · judgment August 21, 2024


Certiorari denied · April 28, 2025
Pre-decision estimate: 21% cert probability (95% interval 14%–29%)

Before the decision, about 5× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a Third Circuit decision below, and a circuit split argued in the petition.

Question presented

Under Section 2513(a) of Title 28 of the United States Code, a petitioner must obtain a certificate of innocence before he may seek damages from the federal government for his unjust conviction and incarceration. There are three requirements for obtaining such a certificate. The first two elements of Section 2513(a) require the petitioner to show that he is actually innocent of the charged offense and that any charged conduct he committed did not amount to an unindicted crime. The third element requires the petitioner to show that “he did not by misconduct or neglect cause or bring about his own prosecution.” The question presented is: Whether a petitioner has satisfied the third element of Section 2513(a) when he did not engage in misconduct or neglect that proximately caused his prosecution. (I)

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Kannon K. Shanmugam
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Linked docket
24A472

Proceedings

  1. Apr 28 2025
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Apr 09 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/25/2025.
  3. Apr 09 2025
    Reply of petitioner Joseph Johnson, Jr. filed. (Distributed)
  4. Mar 24 2025
    Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
  5. Feb 05 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 24, 2025.
  6. Feb 04 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 21, 2025 to March 24, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
  7. Jan 17 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including February 21, 2025.
  8. Jan 16 2025
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 22, 2025 to February 21, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
  9. Dec 19 2024
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 22, 2025)
  10. Nov 12 2024
    Application (24A472) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until December 19, 2024.
  11. Nov 07 2024
    Application (24A472) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from November 19, 2024 to December 19, 2024, submitted to Justice Alito.