Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Okechukwu Dimkpa v. United States
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 23-6245 · judgment March 3, 2026
Before the decision, about 2.1× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a petition citing one or two dissents.
Questions presented
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Whether this Court’s decision in Ruan v. United States, 597 U.S. 450 (2022) constitutes a sufficiently “novel” intervening change in law to constitute “cause” excusing a procedural default under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.
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Whether this Court’s holding in Reed v. Ross, 468 U.S. 1 (1984)—that a decision overturning a unanimous or nearly unanimous circuit interpretation of a federal criminal statute, where that interpretation was based on, if not compelled by, this Court’s own precedent, constitutes “cause” excusing procedural default— survived this Court’s later decision in Bousley v. United States, 523 U.S. 614 (1998).
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If Reed remains good law, whether this Court’s decision in more “arguably” overturned a practice previously approved of in United States v. Moore, 423 U.S. 122 (1975).
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Beau B. Brindley
The Law Offices of Beau B. Brindley
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, October 5, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Oct 05 2026Petition DENIED.
- Aug 19 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2026.
- Aug 11 2026Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
- Jul 30 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 2, 2026)