No. 25-1347October Term 2025Before Arguments
Miguel Angel Delgado, Jr. v. United States
from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Case status
- Current stage
- Before Arguments
- Latest event
- Accepted by the Court
- Decision timing
- No window until argument is scheduled.
- What it's about
from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Question presented
1. Whether a court applying the Fourth Amendment’s totality-of-the-circumstances framework to a prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 242 may effectively confine its excessive-force analysis to the moments immediately surrounding the application of force while considering the broader factual context only in connection with the separate mens rea inquiry, notwithstanding this Court’s rejection of temporally constrained excessive-force analysis in Barnes v. Felix? 2. Whether the “willfulness” element of 18 U.S.C. § 242, as construed in Screws v. United States, requires proof of subjective criminal culpability, or whether a conviction may instead rest on evidence probative only of objective unreasonableness, such as training violations, policy deviations, emotional demeanor, and post-incident concealment? 3. Whether the phrase “bodily injury” in 18 U.S.C. § 242 requires injury greater than de minimis before a misdemeanor constitutional violation may be elevated into federal felony liability? 4. Whether a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1519 for falsifying a use-of-force report “in contemplation” of a federal investigation may be sustained where the inference that the defendant contemplated a federal investigation depends entirely upon predicate findings of unconstitutional and willful force reached through analytically defective Fourth Amendment and mens rea determinations?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit / Accepted by the Court
- Area
Criminal Procedure
Timing
Expected by late June 2026, if argued this term
The Court granted review but has not yet scheduled oral argument. Once argued, the median case reaches a decision in 94 days. Nearly all cases are decided by the end of the term in which they are argued.
Briefing
What it's about
Delgado has asked the Supreme Court to review a Fifth Circuit case about a federal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 242 and a related false-report charge under 18 U.S.C. § 1519. The petition asks whether courts can focus too narrowly on the seconds around force, what "willfulness" and "bodily injury" mean under § 242, and whether the § 1519 charge can stand if those earlier findings were flawed.
Argument
This is a petition for certiorari (the Court's decision to hear a case). No oral argument is scheduled, and the justices have not said whether they will take it.
Impact
The case could affect federal prosecutors and defendants in use-of-force cases by setting the proof needed for criminal intent, bodily injury, and related false-report charges. For example, it could matter when a case relies on training violations, policy deviations, or emotional demeanor instead of direct proof of subjective criminal culpability.
What is the core dispute in Delgado v. United States?
The petition asks how courts should judge alleged excessive force in a federal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 242. It also questions intent, bodily injury, and a false-report charge.
Who could be affected if the Court takes this case?
Federal prosecutors and defendants in use-of-force cases could be affected. The case could shape how proof of intent and injury works when the evidence is indirect.
What happens next in Miguel Angel Delgado, Jr. v. United States?
The justices first decide whether to grant certiorari (review). No oral argument is scheduled, and no decision window is available yet.
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 27, 2026
- Method
- Methodology