Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
George Baldwin Hutchinson, Jr. v. 81st Readiness Division, Ft Jackson, South Carolina, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 25-1339 · judgment July 29, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate: the model weighted this down for a self-represented petitioner.
Questions presented
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Whether a pro se litigant’s federal complaint is timely when it is deposited in the United States Mail before the statutory deadline but received thereafter. where court-imposed restrictions prohibited electronic filing and required filing by mail.
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Whether a federal court of appeals violates the Due Process Clause by affirming judgment in favor of an appellee that filed no response brief, without addressing the court’s own waiver and default rules
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Whether a federal court may disregard controlling precedent recognizing the Mailbox Rule, including Houston v. Lack and Lewis v. Richmond City Police Department, where the litigant was required by court order to file exclusively by mail.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
George Baldwin Hutchinson Jr.
For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General
Case
Subject area
Judicial Power (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Order
Order list, October 5, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Oct 05 2026Petition DENIED.
- Aug 19 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2026.
- Aug 13 2026Waiver of right of respondent Federal party to respond filed.
- Dec 19 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 24, 2026)