October Term 2021 · Docket 20-443

Can federal courts of appeals impose new rules on death penalty trials?

The government argues the First Circuit wrongly created a new reliability rule. The defendant argues the rule protects fair sentencing.

Official caption: United States v. Tsarnaev
Latest argument session: 2021-10-13
Latest official Court activity: 2021-10-13
Latest verified event: Decided
Sources analyzed through: Post Opinion

Verified source milestones

2026-08-29 — An official oral-argument transcript was verified.
2026-08-29 — An official oral-argument transcript was verified.
2026-08-29 — An official Court opinion was verified.

The arguments, in order

This case may have been argued more than once. Each entry below uses that session's official transcript. Later arguments do not erase earlier ones.

Argument 1 · 2021-10-13

What happened at the argument
The government argues the First Circuit acted beyond its power. It claims the court created a new legal standard. This standard was not in existing law. The government says this undermines finality in trials.
The defendant argues the rule ensures reliability. It claims the trial court made a legal error. The defendant says the rule protects constitutional rights. This ensures a fair moral judgment.
justice_questions

Read the official transcript for this argument · Official argument details
Sources used for this argument breakdown
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 21-29 — Transcript, file page 11, lines 21-29
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 43-45 — Transcript, file page 11, lines 43-45
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 11, lines 55-15 — Transcript, file page 11, lines 55-15
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 12, lines 31-15 — Transcript, file page 12, lines 31-15
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 13, lines 19-23 — Transcript, file page 13, lines 19-23
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 13, lines 33-33 — Transcript, file page 13, lines 33-33
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 13, lines 39-45 — Transcript, file page 13, lines 39-45
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 15, lines 7-51 — Transcript, file page 15, lines 7-51
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 11-23 — Transcript, file page 4, lines 11-23
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 25-7 — Transcript, file page 4, lines 25-7
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 55, lines 55-9 — Transcript, file page 55, lines 55-9
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 9-21 — Transcript, file page 6, lines 9-21
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 64, lines 31-33 — Transcript, file page 64, lines 31-33
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 65, lines 35-11 — Transcript, file page 65, lines 35-11
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 66, lines 13-47 — Transcript, file page 66, lines 13-47
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 67, lines 41-25 — Transcript, file page 67, lines 41-25
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 68, lines 35-51 — Transcript, file page 68, lines 35-51
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 70, lines 21-31 — Transcript, file page 70, lines 21-31
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 72, lines 27-41 — Transcript, file page 72, lines 27-41
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 72, lines 51-1 — Transcript, file page 72, lines 51-1
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 73, lines 23-45 — Transcript, file page 73, lines 23-45
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 73, lines 55-15 — Transcript, file page 73, lines 55-15
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 74, lines 25-41 — Transcript, file page 74, lines 25-41
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 76, lines 35-7 — Transcript, file page 76, lines 35-7
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 78, lines 53-25 — Transcript, file page 78, lines 53-25
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 55-17 — Transcript, file page 8, lines 55-17
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 39-39 — Transcript, file page 9, lines 39-39
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 43-1 — Transcript, file page 9, lines 43-1
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 93, lines 43-7 — Transcript, file page 93, lines 43-7
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 96, lines 17-15 — Transcript, file page 96, lines 17-15

A citizen's guide to the whole case

What this case is about

This case tests the power of federal appellate courts. They can set rules for lower courts. The dispute centers on death penalty trials. The government says this power is limited. The defendant says it is broad.