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Warden, Moshannon Valley Correctional Center, et al. v. Adolph Michelin, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, No. 24-2990, 24-3198 · judgment February 2, 2026


9%
estimated cert probability
(petition-stage, structural)
95% interval 3%–20%
Rule 10: circuit split argued

About 2.1× the 4.1% base rate. The model weights this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a state or local-government petitioner, and a Third Circuit decision below, and down for a petition under 3,000 words.

Question presented

Whether the Equal Access to Justice Act’s limited waiver of the United States’ sovereign immunity in “any civil action (other than cases sounding in tort),” 28 U.S.C. 2412(d)(1)(A), unambiguously and unequivocally encompasses petitions for writs of habeas corpus challenging immigration detention.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General

For respondent
Andrew Timothy Tutt
Trial Lawyers for Justice

Case

Subject area
Attorneys (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Linked docket
25A1300

Proceedings

  1. Oct 05 2026
    Response Requested. (Due November 4, 2026)
  2. Sep 16 2026
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/9/2026.
  3. Jul 30 2026
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 31, 2026)
  4. Jun 22 2026
    Application (25A1300) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until July 30, 2026.
  5. Jun 17 2026
    Application (25A1300) to extend further the time from June 30, 2026 to July 30, 2026, submitted to Justice Alito.
  6. May 26 2026
    Application (25A1300) granted by Justice Alito extending the time to file until June 30, 2026.
  7. May 21 2026
    Application (25A1300) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from May 31, 2026 to July 1, 2026, submitted to Justice Alito.