Beckles v. United States
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-8544 | 11th Cir. | Nov 28, 2016 | Mar 6, 2017 | 7-0 | Thomas | OT 2016 |
Holding: The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, including Section 4B1.2(a)'s residual clause, are not subject to vagueness challenges under the due process clause.
Judgment: Affirmed, 7-0, in an opinion by Justice Thomas on March 6, 2017. Justice Kennedy filed a concurring opinion. Justice Ginsburg and Justice Sotomayor filed opinions concurring in the judgment. Justice Kagan took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Opinion analysis: Court immunizes advisory sentencing guidelines against vagueness challenges (Nora Demleitner, March 7, 2017)
- Argument analysis: Court wrestles with vagueness and retroactivity in sentencing context (Nora Demleitner, November 29, 2016)
- Argument preview: Court to tackle constitutionality of residual clause in sentencing guidelines (Nora Demleitner, November 21, 2016)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| Mar 09 2016 | Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due April 13, 2016) |
| Apr 07 2016 | Order extending time to file response to petition to and including May 13, 2016. |
| May 10 2016 | Letter dated May 6, 2016, received from counsel for petitioner waiving the 14-day waiting period for the filing of a reply brief pursuant to Rule 15.5. |
| May 13 2016 | Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed. |
| May 18 2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of June 2, 2016. |
| May 23 2016 | Reply of petitioner Travis Beckles filed. (Distributed) |
| Jun 06 2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of June 9, 2016. |
| Jun 08 2016 | Supplemental brief of petitioner Travis Beckles filed. (Distributed) |
| Jun 13 2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of June 16, 2016. |
| Jun 20 2016 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of June 23, 2016. |
| Jun 27 2016 | Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED. Justice Kagan took no part in the consideration or decision of this motion and this petition. |
| Aug 11 2016 | Adam K. Mortara, Esquire, of Chicago, Illinois, is invited to brief and argue this case, as amicus curiae, in support of the judgment below on Question 2 presented by the petition. Justice Kagan took no part in the consideration or decision of this order. |
| Aug 11 2016 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed) |
| Aug 11 2016 | Brief of petitioner Travis Beckles filed. |
| Aug 16 2016 | The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including September 19, 2016. |
| Aug 16 2016 | The time to file the brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae in support of the judgment below on Question 2 presented by the petition is extended to and including October 21, 2016. |
| Aug 16 2016 | Briefs of other amici curiae in support of the judgment below on Question 2 presented by the petition are to be filed on or before October 28, 2016. |
| Aug 18 2016 | Brief amici curiae of Federal Public and Community Defenders, and the National Association of Federal Defenders filed. |
| Aug 18 2016 | Brief amicus curiae of Scholars of Criminal Law, Federal Courts, and Sentencing filed. |
| Sep 19 2016 | Brief of respondent United States filed. |
| Oct 20 2016 | Motion for enlargement of time for oral argument and for divided argument filed by respondent United States. |
| Oct 21 2016 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, November 28, 2016 |
| Oct 21 2016 | Brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae in support of the judgment below on Question 2 filed. |
| Oct 26 2016 | CIRCULATED. |
| Nov 01 2016 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 11th Circuit. |
| Nov 14 2016 | Motion for additional time to argue by respondent GRANTED. and the time is divided as follows: 25 minutes for petitioner, 25 minutes for respondent, and 15 minutes for the Court-appointed amicus curiae. Justice Kagan took no part in the consideration or decision of this motion. |
| Nov 15 2016 | Record received from the U.S.D.C. Southern District of Florida 1 Envelope. Also received from the Southern District of Florida are SEALED documents, these records are electronic. |
| Nov 17 2016 | Reply of petitioner Travis Beckles filed. (Distributed) |
| Nov 21 2016 | Reply of respondent United States filed. (Distributed) |
| Nov 28 2016 | Argued. For petitioner: Janice L. Bergmann, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. For respondent: Michael R. Dreeben, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For Court-appointed amicus curiae: Adam K. Mortara, Chicago, Ill. (Appointed by this Court.) |
| Mar 06 2017 | Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Thomas, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Kennedy, Breyer, and Alito, JJ., joined. Kennedy, J., filed a concurring opinion. Ginsburg, J., and Sotomayor, J., filed opinions concurring in the judgment. Kagan, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. |
| Apr 07 2017 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |
| Aug 28 2017 | Record from the U.S.D.C. Southern District of Florida has been returned. |
