No. 19-8207October Term 2019Decided Apr 27, 2020
In re Brown
The Supreme Court closed In re Brown without answering Brown's legal questions or ordering lower courts to hear his petition.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Apr 27, 2020
- What it's about
This case involves a petition filed with the Supreme Court under the name In re Brown. Specific details regarding the underlying legal dispute are not available from the provided context.
Question presented
1. Whether the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit erred in dismissing Petitioner’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus for lack of jurisdiction? 2. Whether the Petitioner is entitled to a writ of mandamus to compel the lower courts to exercise jurisdiction over his habeas corpus petition?
- Case path
Decision released Apr 27, 2020
- Area
Criminal Procedure
Briefing
What it's about
David Dwayne Brown asked the Supreme Court to step in after lower federal courts said they lacked power to hear his habeas corpus (challenge to detention) petition. On April 27, 2020, the Court finished this docket action without taking up Brown's petition, leaving the lower-court result in place and not deciding the legal questions.
Impact
That left Brown without the Supreme Court help he wanted on whether the lower courts had to hear his case. For other people filing similar petitions, the Court did not set a new national rule about when federal courts must hear a case.
What's next
This Supreme Court docket is over. The provided record shows no further action scheduled here.
What was Brown asking for in In re Brown?
Brown asked whether lower federal courts wrongly refused to hear his habeas corpus petition. He also sought mandamus (an order telling a court to act).
Who was affected by the outcome in In re Brown?
Brown was directly affected because he did not get Supreme Court review of his claims. Other people with similar cases got no new nationwide rule from this docket action.
What happens next in In re Brown?
Nothing else is scheduled in this Supreme Court docket. The case entry is finished, and the provided record shows no further step here.
Decision
What the Court decided
The Supreme Court closed In re Brown without answering Brown's legal questions or ordering lower courts to hear his petition.
Impact
That left Brown without the Supreme Court help he wanted on whether the lower courts had to hear his case. For other people filing similar petitions, the Court did not set a new national rule about when federal courts must hear a case.
Not official Court text.
Timing
Decided April 27, 2020
The Court released its decision on April 27, 2020 without hearing oral argument.
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
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology