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Ruan v. United States
Consolidated with:
Linked with:
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-1410 | 11th Cir. | Mar 1, 2022 | Jun 27, 2022 | 9-0 | Breyer | OT 2021 |
Holding: For the crime of prescribing controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841, the mens rea “knowingly or intentionally” applies to the statute’s “except as authorized” clause.
Judgment: Vacated and remanded, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Breyer on June 27, 2022. Justice Alito filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which Justice Thomas joined and in which Justice Barrett joined as to Parts I-A, I-B, and II.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- The other Supreme Court ruling with big repercussions for U.S. health care (James Romoser, October 24, 2022)
- Subjective intent of wrongdoing required to convict doctors under Controlled Substances Act (Abbe R. Gluck, June 28, 2022)
- Announcement of orders and opinions for Monday, June 27 (complete) (Angie Gou, June 27, 2022)
- In opioids “pill mill” case, justices grapple with physician intent (Abbe R. Gluck, March 2, 2022)
- Amid overdose crisis, court will weigh physician intent in “pill mill” prosecutions and more under the Controlled Substances Act (Abbe R. Gluck, February 28, 2022)
- Climate change and immigration policies headline February argument calendar (Amy Howe, December 17, 2021)
- One new relist on arbitration clauses (John Elwood, November 10, 2021)
- Justices add four new cases to their docket, including Bivens case, but won’t reconsider Bivens itself (Amy Howe, November 5, 2021)
- Preemption, Bivens, conflicts of interest, and free exercise (John Elwood, November 3, 2021)
- No new relists, but you should read anyway (John Elwood, October 27, 2021)
- Foreign intelligence surveillance and immigration (John Elwood, October 14, 2021)
- Free exercise, greenhouse-gas regulation, and a slew of other relists from the long conference (John Elwood, October 5, 2021)
- Controlled substances, political ads and employee transfers (Andrew Hamm, April 30, 2021)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| Apr 05 2021 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due May 7, 2021) |
| Apr 27 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 7, 2021 to June 7, 2021, submitted to The Clerk. |
| Apr 28 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including June 7, 2021. |
| May 07 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Professors of Health Law and Policy filed. |
| May 27 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from June 7, 2021 to July 7, 2021, submitted to The Clerk. |
| May 28 2021 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including July 7, 2021. |
| Jul 07 2021 | Brief of respondent United States of America in opposition filed. VIDED. |
| Jul 20 2021 | Reply of petitioner Xiulu Ruan filed. (Distributed) |
| Jul 21 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021. |
| Oct 04 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/8/2021. |
| Oct 12 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/15/2021. |
| Oct 25 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/29/2021. |
| Nov 01 2021 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/5/2021. |
| Nov 05 2021 | Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 21-5261 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. |
| Nov 05 2021 | Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 20-1410. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 20-1410. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.” |
| Dec 08 2021 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Xiulu Ruan |
| Dec 17 2021 | ARGUMENT SET FOR Tuesday, March 1, 2022. VIDED. |
| Dec 17 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed (in 20-1410). |
| Dec 20 2021 | Brief of petitioner Xiulu Ruan filed (in 20-1410). |
| Dec 20 2021 | Joint appendix filed (in 20-1410). (Statement of costs filed) |
| Dec 20 2021 | Joint appendix filed (in 21-5261). (Statement of costs filed) |
| Dec 20 2021 | Brief of petitioner Shakeel Kahn filed (in 21-5261). |
| Dec 21 2021 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 11th Circuit. |
| Dec 21 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Compassion & Choices filed. VIDED. |
| Dec 22 2021 | The record from the U.S.C.A 11th Circuit is electronic and located on Pacer |
| Dec 23 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Professors of Health Law and Policy filed (in 20-1410). |
| Dec 27 2021 | Amicus brief of Physicians Against Abuse not accepted for filing. (Corrected version submitted - February 15, 2022). |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Physicians Against Abuse filed (in 20-1410) (1/15/2022). (Distributed) |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Due Process Institute filed (in 20-1410). |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed (in 20-1410). |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and Jeffrey A. Singer, M.D. filed (in 20-1410). |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of National Pain Advocacy Center filed. VIDED. |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Chain Drug Stores in support of neither party filed. VIDED. |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America in support of neither party filed. VIDED. |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed. VIDED. |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amicus curiae of Anmol Singh Kamra filed. VIDED. |
| Dec 27 2021 | Brief amici curiae of Stephen J. Ziegler, et al. filed (in 20-1410). |
| Jan 18 2022 | CIRCULATED |
| Jan 19 2022 | Brief of respondent United States filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| Jan 24 2022 | Motion for divided argument filed by petitioners. VIDED. |
| Feb 17 2022 | Reply of petitioner Shakeel Kahn filed (in 21-5261). (Distributed) |
| Feb 18 2022 | Motion for divided argument filed by petitioners GRANTED, and the time is divided as follows: 15 minutes for petitioner in in No. 20-1410 and 15 minutes for petitioner in No. 21-5261. VIDED. |
| Feb 18 2022 | Reply of petitioner Xiulu Ruan filed (in 20-1410). (Distributed) |
| Mar 01 2022 | Argued. For petitioner in 20-1410: Lawrence S. Robbins, Washington, D. C. For petitioner in 21-5261: Beau B. Brindley, Chicago, Ill. For respondent: Eric J. Feigin, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. VIDED. |
| Jun 27 2022 | Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED. Breyer, J. delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh, JJ., joined. Alito, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which Thomas, J., joined, and in which Barrett, J., joined as to Parts I–A, I–B, and II. VIDED. |
| Jul 29 2022 | JUDGMENT ISSUED |
