United States v. Higgs

The case asks whether federal law let a court choose Indiana as the place for Dustin Higgs's execution after Maryland abolished the death penalty. Higgs was sentenced to death in Maryland for the kidnapping and murders of three women on federal land.

The Court has not scheduled oral argument yet. The key question is whether federal law allowed a court to designate Indiana after Maryland ended the death penalty.

The dispute affects how the federal government can carry out a death sentence when the original state no longer allows executions. That matters for federal death-row inmates whose crimes were tied to states that later changed their laws.

The next milestone is a scheduling move from the Supreme Court, such as setting oral argument or taking another action on the case. No decision window is available yet.

The fight is over whether federal law allowed Indiana to be chosen for the execution after Maryland abolished the death penalty.

It could shape what happens to other federal death-row inmates when the state tied to their sentence no longer carries out executions.

Watch for oral argument to be scheduled or for another Supreme Court scheduling step. No argument date or decision window is available yet.