United States v. Dustin Higgs ( 2021 )

FILED: January 7, 2021
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
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No. 20-18
(8:98-cr-00520-PJM-2)
___________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Plaintiff - Appellant
v.
DUSTIN JOHN HIGGS
Defendant - Appellee
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ORDER
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Upon consideration of the government’s opening brief and the defendant’s response
brief, the court directs the clerk to schedule this case for remote oral argument on January
27, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. The parties may file any motions pertaining to the scheduling of
argument by January 8, 2021.
Entered at the direction of Judge Keenan with the concurrence of Judge Floyd.
Judge Richardson dissented from the order and filed a dissenting opinion.
For the Court
/s/ Patricia S. Connor, Clerk
RICHARDSON, Circuit Judge, dissenting:
I respectfully dissent from the order delaying this case to schedule oral argument on
January 27. Argument and more time for deliberation can be helpful, particularly in
weighty matters like this one. But the Executive Branch scheduled Higgs’s execution for
January 15. And the parties agreed to an expedited briefing schedule to permit
consideration of a single question of statutory interpretation before that date. See Fourth
Circuit I.O.P. 22.1.
Respecting the Executive’s prerogative to carry out duly imposed capital sentences,
the Supreme Court acts with dispatch when a district court bars a scheduled execution. See
Barr v. Hall, No. 20A102, 2020 WL 6797719 (U.S. Nov. 19, 2020) (mem.); Barr v. Lee,
140 S. Ct. 2590 (2020); Barr v. Purkey, 140 S. Ct. 2594 (2020) (mem.); Barr v. Purkey,
141 S. Ct. 196 (2020) (mem.). There is no good reason why we cannot do the same. So I
respectfully dissent from the decision to delay this process to hear oral argument during
our previously scheduled term of court, which falls two weeks after the scheduled
execution.
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