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Serrano-Mercado v. United States

Petition for certiorari denied on January 17, 2017

Docket No. Argument Opinion Vote Author Term
16-237 N/A N/A N/A N/A OT 2016

Issue: (1) Whether a district court commits plain error by enhancing a sentence based on a divisible statute without requiring the government to meet its burden of proving that the conviction arose under a qualifying prong of that statute, as five circuits have held, or whether on plain-error review the burden instead shifts to the defendant to affirmatively show that the alleged predicate offense did not arise under a qualifying prong of the statute, as four circuits have held; and (2) whether the district court's additional enhancement of the petitioner's sentence based on a second predicate offense under the crime-of-violence residual clause was error in this case because that clause is unconstitutionally vague.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

DateProceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
08/22/2016Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 23, 2016)
09/22/2016Order extending time to file response to petition to and including October 24, 2016.
09/23/2016Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed.
09/23/2016Brief amicus curiae of National Association for Public Defense filed.
10/19/2016Order further extending time to file response to petition to and including November 22, 2016.
11/22/2016Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
12/05/2016Reply of petitioner Wilson Serrano-Mercado filed.
12/07/2016DISTRIBUTED for Conference of January 6, 2017.
01/09/2017DISTRIBUTED for Conference of January 13, 2017.
01/17/2017Petition DENIED.