No. 25-7403October Term 2025Petition Pending
Bryon Brockway, Petitioner v. United States
Bryon Brockway asks the Court to review a criminal case in which the trial court gave jurors two exhibits that had not been admitted into evidence.
Case status
- Current stage
- Petition Pending
- Latest event
- Petition pending
- Decision timing
- No decision timeline until the Court agrees to hear the case.
- What it's about
Bryon Brockway asks the Court to review a criminal case in which the trial court gave jurors two exhibits that had not been admitted into evidence. The petition challenges the lower courts’ treatment of that error and the standard for deciding whether the exhibits improperly affected the jury.
Question presented
1. Where a district court had improperly provided the jury with two unadmitted exhibits after those exhibits had been the subject of substantial discussion and one codefendant's decision not to admit the exhibits fundamentally altered the trial strategy of another defendant, did the district court err in finding structural error? 2. What is the proper standard of proof at a hearing to determine whether the effects on a jury of improperly admitted evidence were harmless pursuant to Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227 (1954)?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit / Petition pending
- Area
Petition for review pending
Briefing
What it's about
Bryon Brockway asks the Supreme Court to review a criminal case in which jurors received two exhibits that had not been admitted into evidence. The petition asks how courts should decide whether that mistake requires a new trial or was harmless.
Argument
The petition for certiorari (the Court's decision whether to hear a case) has been filed, and oral argument has not been scheduled.
Impact
The case could affect defendants and prosecutors when jurors see material that was never properly introduced at trial. For example, it could shape what a judge must show before allowing a guilty verdict to stand after jurors receive unadmitted evidence.
What is at stake in Brockway v. United States?
The case concerns whether two unadmitted exhibits given to jurors improperly affected a criminal trial and what test courts should use to assess that error.
Who could be affected by the Brockway case?
Criminal defendants, prosecutors, trial judges, and jurors could be affected when material not admitted into evidence reaches a jury.
What happens next in Brockway v. United States?
The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case. Oral argument has not been scheduled.
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