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Bowe v. United States

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Supreme Court of the United States
Bowe v. United States
Docket number: 24-5438
Term: 2025
Court: United States Supreme Court
Important dates
Argument: October 14, 2025
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts • Clarence Thomas • Samuel Alito • Sonia Sotomayor • Elena Kagan • Neil Gorsuch • Brett Kavanaugh • Amy Coney Barrett • Ketanji Brown Jackson

Bowe v. United States is a case scheduled for argument before the Supreme Court of the United States on October 14, 2025, during the court's October 2025-2026 term.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The issue: The case concerned 1. Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1), which requires circuit and district judges to dismiss repeat writs of habeas corpus, applies to motions to vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.

    2. Whether the Court has certiorari jurisdiction to review the approval or denial of permissions given to federal prisoners allowing them to submit repeat challenges to their sentences. Click here to learn more about the case's background.

  • The questions presented: 1. "Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1) applies to a claim presented in a second or successive motion to vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. [...] Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(E), “[t]he grant or denial of an authorization by a court of appeals to file a second or successive application shall not be appealable and shall not be the subject of a petition... for a writ of certiorari.”

    2. "Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(E) deprives this Court of certiorari jurisdiction over the grant or denial of an authorization by a court of appeals to file a second or successive motion to vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255."[1]

  • The outcome: The appeal is pending adjudication before the U.S. Supreme Court.


    • The case came on a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. To review the lower court's opinion, click here.

    Background

    Case summary

    The following are the parties to this case:[2]

    • Petitioner: Michael Bowe
      • Legal counsel: Andrew Lee Adler (Federal Public Defender's Office)
    • Respondent: United States

    The following summary of the case was published by Oyez

    “ In 2008, Michael Bowe was charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, attempted Hobbs Act robbery, and using a firearm during a crime of violence. He pleaded guilty in 2009 and received a 288-month sentence, which included a mandatory consecutive 120-month term for the firearm conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Starting in 2016, Bowe made multiple attempts to challenge his § 924(c) conviction through a series of motions and applications, arguing that changes in Supreme Court precedent (particularly Johnson v. United States and United States v. Davis) meant that his underlying crimes no longer qualified as “crimes of violence” that could support the firearm conviction.

    The district court initially denied Bowe’s first § 2255 motion in 2016, finding that attempted Hobbs Act robbery still qualified as a crime of violence. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit then denied several subsequent applications from Bowe to file additional challenges, ultimately concluding in that it lacked jurisdiction to consider his latest application because he was attempting to raise the same claim he had already presented in previous applications.[4]

    		”

    To learn more about this case, see the following:

    Timeline

    The following timeline details key events in this case:

    • October 14, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument.
    • January 17, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
    • August 29, 2024: Michael Bowe appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
    • June 27, 2024: The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denied Bowe’s application for leave to file a second or successive motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence.

    Questions presented

    The petitioner presented the following questions to the court:[1]

    Questions presented:
    “ The first question presented is:

    Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1) applies to a claim presented in a second or successive motion to vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.

    Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(E), “[t]he grant or denial of an authorization by a court of appeals to file a second or successive application shall not be appealable and shall not be the subject of a petition . . . for a writ of certiorari.” (emphasis added).

    The second question presented is:

    Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(E) deprives this Court of certiorari jurisdiction over the grant or denial of an authorization by a court of appeals to file a second or successive motion to vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. [4]

    		”

    Oral argument

    Audio

    Audio of the case will be posted here when it is made available.

    Transcript

    A transcript of the case will be posted here when it is made available.

    Outcome

    The case is pending adjudication before the U.S. Supreme Court.

    October term 2025-2026

    See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2025-2026

    The Supreme Court will begin hearing cases for the term on October 6, 2025. The court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions by mid-June.[5]


    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Supreme Court of the United States, "24-5438 BOWE V. UNITED STATES QP", January 17, 2025
    2. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "No. 24-5438," accessed February 5, 2025
    3. ↑ Note: At the time that the Court accepted this case's writ of certiorari, legal counsel was provided by then-U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar. Prelogar stepped down from her position on January 20, 2025, following the swearing-in of President Donald Trump (R) to his second term. After taking office, Trump appointed Sarah M. Harris to serve as the acting U.S. Solicitor General until her successor is confirmed and sworn in.
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    5. ↑ SupremeCourt.gov, "The Supreme Court at Work: The Term and Caseload," accessed January 24, 2022
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