Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
James P. Abrams v. United States
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 24-1998, 24-3003 · judgment January 30, 2026
(petition-stage, structural)
About 2× the 4.1% base rate. The model weights this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a Third Circuit decision below, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below.
Question presented
Whether a defendant’s general motion for judgment of acquittal under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 preserves de novo appellate review of the sufficiency of the evidence, or whether the defendant must independently articulate each specific deficiency in the government’s evidence to avoid plain-error review.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
David A. O'Neil
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Sep 01 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including October 9, 2026.
- Aug 31 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 9, 2026 to October 9, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jul 29 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including September 9, 2026.
- Jul 28 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from August 10, 2026 to September 9, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jul 06 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including August 10, 2026.
- Jul 02 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from July 9, 2026 to August 10, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jun 09 2026Response Requested. (Due July 9, 2026)
- Jun 02 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/18/2026.
- Jun 01 2026Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed. (Distributed)
- Jun 01 2026Brief amici curiae of Former Judges filed. (Distributed)
- May 22 2026Letter requesting Deferred Distribution of James Abrams not accepted for filing. (June 09, 2026) See Rule 29.1
- May 21 2026Waiver of right of respondent United States of America to respond filed.
- Apr 16 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 1, 2026)