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Jane Elizabeth Roberts, et al. v. Bob Ferguson, Governor of Washington, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 24-1949 · judgment December 10, 2025


1%
estimated cert probability
(petition-stage, structural)
GVR risk 0%

Well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

  1. Whether the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a State from mandating that an individual accept the administration of a drug that is exempt from 21 U.S.C. § 355(a) — on penalty of losing benefits — where the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act expressly requires the Secretary to ensure such administration is the product of voluntary, informed consent.

  2. Whether a State mandate for an individual to accept the administration of a covered countermeasure is consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment insofar as the PREP Act’s immunity clause of 42 U.S.C. § 247d6d(a)(1), upon administration, extinguishes the right to access courts if injured by the countermeasure.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
David J. Schexnaydre
Schexnaydre Law Firm

For respondent
Tera Marie Heintz
Washington State Attorney General's Office

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Linked docket
25A911

Proceedings

  1. Aug 24 2026
    Brief of respondent Bob Ferguson, Governor of Washington, in opposition filed.
  2. Aug 24 2026
    Brief of respondents Shriners Hospitals for Children, et al. in opposition filed.
  3. Aug 03 2026
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including August 24, 2026, for all respondents.
  4. Jul 31 2026
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from August 13, 2026 to August 24, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
  5. Jul 14 2026
    Response Requested. (Due August 13, 2026)
  6. Jul 01 2026
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2026.
  7. Jun 29 2026
    Waiver of right of respondent Bob Ferguson, Governor of Washington to respond filed.
  8. Jun 11 2026
    Waiver of right of respondents Shriners Hospitals for Children; Shriners Hospitals for Children-Spokane; Breverly Bokovitz; Frances Farley; Jerry Gantt; John McCabe; Phillip Grady; Peter Brewer to respond filed.
  9. May 11 2026
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 29, 2026)
  10. Feb 12 2026
    Application (25A911) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until May 9, 2026.
  11. Feb 06 2026
    Application (25A911) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from March 10, 2026 to May 9, 2026, submitted to Justice Kagan.