Durham v. United States
Headline: Court vacates conviction and orders dismissal of indictment after defendant died while seeking Supreme Court review, removing his federal conviction and directing the lower court to dismiss the case.
Holding: The Court granted review, vacated the lower court’s judgment, and remanded with instructions for the district court to dismiss the indictment because the defendant died while Supreme Court review was pending.
- Vacates federal convictions when defendant dies during Supreme Court review.
- Directs district courts to dismiss indictments after death pending direct review.
- Clarifies lower courts’ role in handling abated criminal cases.
Summary
Background
A man was convicted of knowingly possessing a counterfeit $20 bill and lost his appeal in the federal Court of Appeals. He filed a timely rehearing request, received notice of its denial only after months, and then filed a late petition to this Court. Before the Court acted, the petitioner died while his petition for review was pending.
Reasoning
The core question was what should happen when a criminal defendant dies while asking the Supreme Court to review his conviction. The Court examined prior decisions and lower-court practice and concluded that death pending direct review generally “abates” the case — meaning the review ends and the conviction should be undone. The Court found that, given the delay in the petitioner’s receiving the denial of rehearing, it was proper to excuse the late filing and treat the case as pending when the petitioner died. The Court therefore granted leave to proceed, vacated the judgment below, and sent the case back with directions that the district court dismiss the indictment.
Real world impact
As a practical matter, this ruling means that when a defendant dies while Supreme Court review is pending, the normal result is to erase the federal conviction by vacating the lower judgment and directing dismissal of the indictment, subject to whatever follow-up the lower courts find appropriate. The decision addresses only this procedural situation and does not decide the underlying criminal question.
Dissents or concurrances
A separate opinion would have simply dismissed the petition as moot, and a dissent argued the petition was untimely and would not order the indictment dismissed.
Opinions in this case:
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