Bello v. United States

Background

A group of people asked the Supreme Court to review decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Court considered petitions filed by fifteen named individuals. For eight of those people, the Court granted review and allowed them to proceed without paying court fees. For seven other people, the Court denied the request for review.

Reasoning

The Court’s action centered on whether earlier appeals-court rulings should be reexamined in light of a recent Supreme Court decision, Sessions v. Dimaya. For the eight individuals whose petitions were granted, the Court vacated the judgments (erased the appeals-court decisions) and sent those cases back to the Fifth Circuit for further consideration specifically in light of Sessions v. Dimaya. For the seven individuals whose petitions were denied, the Supreme Court left the appeals-court decisions in place and did not order further review.

Real world impact

The practical result is procedural: several cases will be reconsidered by the Fifth Circuit with instructions to account for the Supreme Court’s recent decision, and the eight granted permission to proceed without paying fees. This order is not a final ruling on the underlying merits of those cases and could change after the appeals court reconsiders. People whose petitions were denied will generally see the appeals-court outcomes stand unless other legal steps are taken.