In re Allen

Allen filed a petition directly with the Supreme Court, arguing that the Fourth Circuit had gone more than 1,000 days without ruling on his motion for reconsideration and had denied him due process and access to the courts. The Supreme Court finished this docket action by declining review, so it did not decide the merits of his claims.

The case matters for people trying to get higher courts to act when they believe a lower court has delayed too long. For example, a prisoner waiting years for an appellate response may see how hard it is to get the Supreme Court to step in.

There is no further action scheduled in this Supreme Court docket. Any remaining steps would have to come, if at all, in the lower courts or through a new filing.

He asked the Court to intervene because he said the Fourth Circuit had not ruled on his reconsideration motion for more than 1,000 days. He claimed that delay violated due process and access to the courts.

People waiting a long time for action in lower courts may pay close attention. The Court's refusal to review shows it did not step in to address that alleged delay here.

This Supreme Court docket is over. If Allen wants more relief, he would need to pursue any available options outside this closed case.