Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
William Collins, III v. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 23-2218 · judgment May 15, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
Petitioner William Collins, III, is an upstanding and law-abiding citizen. His only criminal history stems from youthful indiscretion: minor, nonviolent offenses committed as a young adult nearly 25 years ago. None of those offenses suggests that Collins poses a danger to anyone, and none of them would have resulted in his disarmament at the Founding. The questions presented are:
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May the government deprive Collins of his Second Amendment right to bear arms based on these convictions?
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May a person raise an as-applied challenge to a law that imposes an overly broad prohibition on the possession of a firearm?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Elizabeth Guild Simpson
For respondent
Phillip M. Pickus
Maryland Office of the Attorney General
Proceedings
- Jan 20 2026Petition DENIED.
- Dec 30 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/16/2026.
- Dec 23 2025Reply of petitioner William Collins, III filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 12 2025Brief of Federal Respondents in opposition filed.
- Nov 14 2025Waiver of right of respondents Anthony G. Brown, Maryland Attorney General, Col. Roland L. Butler, Jr. to respond filed.
- Oct 24 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 15, 2025.
- Oct 23 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 14, 2025 to December 15, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
- Oct 10 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 14, 2025)
- Jul 23 2025Application (25A91) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until October 10, 2025.
- Jul 21 2025Application (25A91) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 13, 2025 to October 10, 2025, submitted to The Chief Justice.