Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Lawrence Rudolph v. United States
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, No. 23-1278 · judgment September 8, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
Whether the Tenth Circuit erred in interpreting a federal venue statute enacted by the First Congress to mean the government can prosecute a federal crime committed abroad in any district it chooses, even while conceding that the statute’s plain text, like the Constitution’s Venue and Vicinage Clauses, bars prosecutorial forum-shopping.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Ricardo J. Bascuas
University of Miami School of Law
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
Order
Order list, January 12, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Jan 12 2026Petition DENIED.
- Dec 23 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
- Dec 15 2025Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
- Dec 08 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 9, 2026)