Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Francisco Pineda-Barrientos v. Maryland
Paid petition · Appellate Court of Maryland, No. 1444, September Term, 2023 · judgment September 2, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
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Whether the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments require a criminal jury, on request, to be instructed on the presumption of innocence and the burden of reasonable doubt before the presentation of evidence.
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Whether refusal to give an instruction, on request, on the presumption of innocence until final instructions is structural error, overruling Kentucky v. Whorton, 441 U.S. 786 (1979).
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Andrew V. Jezic
The Law Offices of Jezic & Moyse, LLC
For respondent
Jeremy Hugh Welter
Office of the Attorney General of Maryland
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 13, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Oct 13 2026Petition DENIED.
- Sep 23 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/9/2026.
- Sep 21 2026Waiver of right of respondent Maryland to respond filed.
- Jun 22 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 13, 2026)