Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Charles Ditto v. United States
IFP petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 24-7191 · judgment March 12, 2026
Question presented
Whether lower courts may apply a “reasonable probability” standard in evaluating the inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule? The lower courts’ use of a “reasonable probability” standard in the inevitable discovery context has eroded this Court’s holding and its core exclusionary rule rationale in Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431 (1984).
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Chad Pennington
Federal Public Defender Central District of Cal.
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 13, 2026 · Certiorari denied
Proceedings
- Oct 13 2026Petition DENIED.
- Sep 24 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/9/2026.
- Sep 18 2026Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
- Jul 06 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due October 13, 2026)