Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Keith Pharms v. United States
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, No. 24-14191 · judgment February 5, 2026
Before the decision, about 4.7× 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 an Eleventh Circuit decision below.
Question presented
Whether the Fifth and Sixth Amendments prohibit a sentencing court from increasing a criminal defendant’s sentence based on conduct of which a jury acquitted him. (I)
Counsel of record
For petitioner
John Patrick Elwood
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General
Case
Subject area
Criminal Procedure (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Amicus briefs
4 cert-stage
Order
Order list, June 22, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Jun 22 2026Petition DENIED.
- Jun 02 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/18/2026.
- May 29 2026Reply of petitioner Keith Pharms filed. (Distributed)
- May 18 2026Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
- Apr 17 2026Brief amici curiae of Law Professor Douglas Berman, et al. filed.
- Apr 17 2026Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
- Apr 17 2026Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed.
- Apr 13 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 18, 2026.
- Apr 10 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 17, 2026 to May 18, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Mar 20 2026Amici brief of 18 Former Federal Judges not accepted for filing. (To be corrected - March 24, 2026)
- Mar 20 2026Brief amici curiae of 18 Former Federal Judges filed. (Corrected)
- Mar 13 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 17, 2026)