Set your WestLaw and Lexus alerts, folks! On March 4, 2024, the defendants in the Dávila-Reyes case made a bold move by filing a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States. What’s at stake? The defendants want SCOTUS to answer the following:
Question I: Does the United States’ jurisdiction over a vessel under 46 U.S.C. § 70504(a) present a question of subject matter jurisdiction?
Question II: Do bedrock plea-bargain principles allow an appellate court to evade review of a constitutional jurisdiction question by allowing the Government to assert a fact-dependent basis of jurisdiction beyond the parties’ contemplation at the time the plea-bargain was struck? If not, must the court of appeals reinstate the now-vacated panel opinion holding that 46 U.S.C. § 70502(d)(1)(C) exceeds the scope of the Felonies Clause?
Now, the million-dollar question: will the Supreme Court certify? Stay tuned to MDLEA.com as we continue to follow the case!