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Tangtang Zhao v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, No. 23-3366 · judgment June 23, 2025


Certiorari denied · November 10, 2025
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

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

Question presented

18 U.S.C. § 641 criminalizes theft of a “thing of value of the United States.” The Federal Circuits apply different and inconsistent tests to determine whether property is a “thing of value of the United States” once distributed to a private, non-government, third party. As such, Mr. Zhao presents the following: What standard do juries apply to determine whether property is a “thing of value of the United States” once distributed to a private, non-government, third party?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Michael John Petro
A.A.L

For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Nov 10 2025
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Oct 08 2025
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/7/2025.
  3. Sep 30 2025
    Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
  4. Sep 18 2025
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 22, 2025)