No. 19-8072October Term 2019Decided Apr 20, 2020Updated Sep 3, 2026
Cervantes v. Biter
The Court declined review, leaving the Ninth Circuit’s result in place without deciding the legal question.
Case status
Decided · April 20, 2020
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Apr 20, 2020
- What it's about
This is a pending case where the petitioner is asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision while also requesting permission to proceed without paying standard court fees due to financial hardship.
Question presented
Whether the Ninth Circuit’s rule that a habeas petitioner’s “good faith” belief that he had exhausted his state court remedies is not a “circumstance” that can justify a stay and abeyance under Rhines v. Weber, 544 U.S. 269 (2005), conflicts with Rhines and the decisions of other circuits?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit / Decision released Apr 20, 2020
- Area
Criminal Procedure
Decision
What the Court decided
The Court declined review, leaving the Ninth Circuit’s result in place without deciding the legal question.
Impact
The Ninth Circuit’s result remains in place for federal habeas petitioners in that circuit. For example, a prisoner who wrongly but honestly believed state-court review was complete may still face limits on pausing a federal petition to return to state court.
Not official Court text.
Briefing
What it's about
The Supreme Court declined to review Cervantes v. Biter on April 20, 2020. It did not decide the merits of whether a habeas petitioner’s good-faith belief about exhausting state remedies can justify pausing a federal case.
Impact
The Ninth Circuit’s result remains in place for federal habeas petitioners in that circuit. For example, a prisoner who wrongly but honestly believed state-court review was complete may still face limits on pausing a federal petition to return to state court.
What's next
The Supreme Court has finished its action in this case. Cervantes’s lower-court result remains in effect.
What was the dispute in Cervantes v. Biter?
The case asked whether an honest belief that state remedies were exhausted could justify pausing a federal habeas case.
Who is affected by the Supreme Court’s action in Cervantes v. Biter?
Federal habeas petitioners in the Ninth Circuit are affected because the lower court’s approach remains in place. Cervantes’s own lower-court result also remains effective.
What happens next in Cervantes v. Biter?
No further Supreme Court action is scheduled. The Court declined to hear the case, so the lower-court result stays in place.
Timing
Decided April 20, 2020
The Court released its decision on April 20, 2020 without hearing oral argument.
Documents
Activity
Docket activity2
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
Sep 3, 2026 | Generated
Brief added: Petition
Mar 19, 2020 | Court records
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Sep 3, 2026
- Method
- Methodology