Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Christopher L. Thompson v. Illinois
Paid petition · Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District, No. 3-23-0680 · judgment February 4, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
-
Whether a court conducts an adequate inquiry into juror racial bias where it discounts evidence of racial bias as “off-hand” remarks, relies upon the prevalence of racial bias in American history, and weighs evidence of racial bias against evidence of defendant’s guilt?
-
Whether the Illinois court properly found that evidence of extraneous influence on juror deliberations was disproved beyond a reasonable doubt?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Stephen Louis Richards
Law Office of Stephen L. Richards
For respondent
Katherine Marie Doersch
Office of the Illinois Attorney General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Proceedings
- Mar 02 2026Petition DENIED.
- Feb 11 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/27/2026.
- Feb 09 2026Waiver of right of respondent Illinois to respond filed.
- Dec 22 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 2, 2026)