Hewitt v. United States
Consolidated with Duffey v. United States (23-1150)
Holding
Because a sentence “has ... been imposed” for purposes of § 403(b) of the First Step Act only if the sentence is extant (i.e., has not been vacated), the act’s more lenient penalties apply to defendants whose previous sentences have been vacated and who need to be resentenced following the act’s enactment; the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is reversed and the case is remanded.
Judgment
Reversed and remanded, 5-4, in an opinion by Ketanji Brown Jackson on Jun 26, 2025. Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Gorsuch joined Parts I, II, and III of the Jackson's opinion, while Sotomayor and Kagan joined Parts IV and V. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Thomas, Kavanaugh, and Barrett.
Mar 8, 2024Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 11, 2024)Mar 18, 2024Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
Mar 20, 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/12/2024.
Mar 28, 2024Response Requested. (Due April 29, 2024)
Apr 4, 2024Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union, et al. filed.Apr 11, 2024Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed.Apr 23, 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 29, 2024 to May 29, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.Apr 24, 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 29, 2024.
May 29, 2024Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed. VIDED.May 30, 2024Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioner.Jun 3, 2024Reply of petitioner Tony R. Hewitt filed. (Distributed)Jun 4, 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/20/2024.
Jun 28, 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/1/2024.
Jul 2, 2024Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 23-1150 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument.
Jul 2, 2024Because 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. 23-1002. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 23-1002. 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.”
Jul 26, 2024Michael H. McGinley, Esquire, of Washington, D. C., is invited to brief and argue these cases, as amicus curiae, in support of the judgment below. VIDED.
Jul 29, 2024Motion for an extension of time file the briefs on the merits filed. VIDED.Jul 31, 2024Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix, petitioners' briefs on the merits, and the United States' brief on the merits is extended to and including September 16, 2024. The time to file the brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae in support of the judgment below is extended to and including November 15, 2024. VIDED.
Sep 6, 2024Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioners. VIDED.Sep 16, 2024Brief of respondent United States in support of petitioners filed. VIDED.Sep 16, 2024Brief of petitioner Tony R. Hewitt filed. VIDED.Sep 16, 2024Brief of petitioners Corey Deyon Duffey, et al. filed. VIDED.Sep 23, 2024Brief amici curiae of Senators Richard J. Durbin, et al. filed. VIDED.Sep 23, 2024Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union, et al. filed. VIDED.Sep 23, 2024Brief amici curiae of The District of Columbia, et al. filed. VIDED.Oct 7, 2024Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioners GRANTED. VIDED.
Oct 31, 2024SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, January 13, 2025. VIDED.
Nov 4, 2024Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Nov 4, 2024Motion for divided argument filed by the Solicitor General. VIDED.Nov 12, 2024Record received from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The record is electronic and is available on PACER.
Nov 15, 2024Brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae in support of the judgment below filed. VIDED.Dec 3, 2024CIRCULATED
Dec 9, 2024Motion for divided argument filed by the Solicitor General GRANTED. VIDED.
Dec 16, 2024Reply of petitioner Tony R. Hewitt filed. VIDED. (Distributed)Dec 16, 2024Reply of petitioners Corey Deyon Duffey and Jarvis Dupree Ross filed. VIDED. (Distributed)Dec 16, 2024Reply of respondent United States filed. VIDED. (Distributed)Jan 13, 2025Argued. For petitioners: Michael B. Kimberly, Washington, D. C. For respondent in support of petitioners: Masha G. Hansford, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For Court-appointed amicus curiae in support of judgment below: Michael H. McGinley, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
Jun 26, 2025Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Jackson, J., delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II, and III, in which Roberts, C. J., and Sotomayor, Kagan, and Gorsuch, JJ., joined, and an opinion with respect to Parts IV and V, in which Sotomayor and Kagan, JJ., joined. Alito, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Thomas, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. VIDED.
Jul 28, 2025Judgment Issued.Recommended Citation: Hewitt v. United States, SCOTUSblog, https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/hewitt-v-united-states/