Cooper v. United States

Background

A person who had been sentenced in federal court asked the Supreme Court to review an Eleventh Circuit decision. The Court allowed the person to proceed without paying filing fees and agreed to consider the case. Because another major case, Johnson v. United States, was pending, the Court held this petition and later decided to act after Johnson.

Reasoning

The Court’s order vacated the Eleventh Circuit’s judgment and sent the case back for the lower court to reconsider the sentence in light of Johnson. Johnson addressed whether a part of the federal Armed Career Criminal Act — a sentencing rule called the "residual clause" — was too vague to be applied. The Supreme Court’s action here does not itself decide whether this person should get relief. Instead, it tells the appeals court to reexamine the case now that Johnson has clarified the law. The Court followed the Solicitor General’s recommendation to hold many similar cases pending Johnson.

Real world impact

This order pauses the finality of the defendant’s sentence and requires a fresh look under the new Johnson standard. The lower court must decide whether the prior sentence still stands or must be changed. Because the Supreme Court did not rule on the merits here, the outcome could still go either way. The appeals court could either keep the sentence or reduce it depending on its reconsideration.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Alito wrote a short concurrence explaining that the Court has held many similar cases pending Johnson and that the GVR order does not signal any view on whether the person is entitled to relief.