Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Randy A. Thomas v. Cynthia Davis, Warden
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 25-3340 · judgment February 18, 2026
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
Whether a criminal defendant’s right to be present at all critical stages of trial includes the right to be present for a trial court’s response to a jury’s request for additional instructions. Whether a defendant must show that his presence during the trial court’s response to a jury’s request for additional instructions would have changed the outcome of trial. Whether a district court’s fact finding that counsel was absent during a critical stage of trial should be reviewed for clear error.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Kip Thomas Bollin
Thompson Hine LLP
For respondent
Mathura Jaya Sridharan
Ohio Attorney General's Office
Case
Subject area
Criminal Procedure (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Linked docket
25A1237
Order
Order list, October 5, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Oct 05 2026Petition DENIED.
- Aug 05 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2026.
- Aug 03 2026Waiver of right of respondent Cynthia Davis to respond filed.
- Jun 22 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 21, 2026)
- May 11 2026Application (25A1237) granted by Justice Kavanaugh extending the time to file until June 19, 2026.
- May 07 2026Application (25A1237) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from May 19, 2026 to June 19, 2026, submitted to Justice Kavanaugh.