Jonathan Wayne Lanaute, Petitioner v. United States

Jonathan Wayne Lanaute has asked the Supreme Court to review a Fifth Circuit rule for challenging a prior state conviction under the crime-of-violence force clause. The dispute is whether a defendant must point to a real state-court case applying an overbroad statute to non-generic conduct, or whether the statute's text and elements alone can show overbreadth.

The case is still at the petition stage, and oral argument has not been scheduled. The petition says statutory text and elements should be enough to show overbreadth, while the Fifth Circuit requires an actual state-court decision applying the statute to non-generic conduct.

The answer could shape how hard it is for defendants to contest the use of older state convictions in federal court. For example, someone in the Fifth Circuit may face a tougher burden than defendants in other circuits when trying to show a prior conviction should not count.

It asks whether a defendant must find a real state-court case showing a broad statute used in a non-generic way. Or whether the statute's text and elements alone can show overbreadth.

Defendants with prior state convictions, especially in the Fifth Circuit, could be affected. A stricter proof rule can make it harder to challenge whether an earlier conviction counts.

The Court must decide whether to grant certiorari (hear the case). Oral argument has not been scheduled, and no decision window is available yet.