R48706 — Supreme Court Review: Criminal Law Cases from the October 2024 Term

In its October 2024 term, the Supreme Court issued several significant decisions in cases involving federal criminal law and constitutional criminal procedure. These cases ranged from familiar topics for the Court—such as crimes of violence, fraud, testimony, and excessive force—to emerging issues and those of first impression, such as certain sentencing reductions under the First Step Act and the scope of immunity under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. These cases also involved various phases of the criminal process, from arrest through conviction, resentencing, and supervised release. This report offers an overview of the Supreme Court’s rulings in these cases. Two cases involved the scope of criminal statutes: Kousisis v. United States, 145 S. Ct. 1382 (2025), holding that an intent to cause economic loss may sustain a wire fraud conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, even where the victim suffered no actual economic loss; and Thompson v. United States, 145 S. Ct. 821 (2025), holding that the prohibition on making “false” statements in a loan application under 18 U.S.C. § 1014 does not include “misleading” statements. Two cases involved firearms: Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, 145 S. Ct. 1556, 1562 (2025), holding that the Government of Mexico’s aiding and abetting theory of liability was insufficiently plausible to deny immunity under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act to gun manufacturers for alleged downstream harms in Mexico; and Bondi v. VanDerStok, 145 S. Ct. 857 (2025), holding that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ rule regulating certain unmarked firearms (sometimes called “ghost guns”), along with kits of their constituent parts, is consistent with the Gun Control Act. Three decisions were related to sentencing: Delligatti v. United States, 145 S. Ct. 797 (2025), holding that a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) may be committed by omission; Esteras v. United States, 145 S. Ct. 2031 (2025), holding that retributive factors tied to the original crime of conviction may not be considered in supervised-release revocation decisions; and the consolidated cases of Hewitt v. United States and Duffey v. United States, 145 S. Ct. 2165 (2025), which held that federal defendants whose original sentences were vacated prior to the enactment of the First Step Act are entitled to retroactive sentencing relief under the act. Two cases dealt with constitutional rights: Glossip v. Oklahoma, 145 S. Ct. 612 (2025), holding in a capital case that the prosecution had violated its constitutional obligation to correct false testimony; and Barnes v. Felix, 145 S. Ct. 1353 (2025), holding that excessive force claims under the Fourth Amendment involving deadly force should be evaluated in view of the broader circumstances leading up to the use of force, not only the specific time frame when the officer believed that the use of such force was warranted. This report concludes by discussing potential ways that Congress could respond legislatively to the Court’s decisions.

Curated by CRS — every bill listed in this report's relatedMaterials. Edge type cited_in_report, gold confidence.

• HR 3764 — Death Penalty for Dealing Fentanyl Act of 2025 · 119th Cong
• S 2725 — STOP Act 2.0 · 119th Cong
• HR 2698 — Bolstering Security Against Ghost Guns Act · 119th Cong
• S 2680 — LETITIA Act · 119th Cong
• HR 1068 — PLCAA Federal Jurisdiction Act · 119th Cong
• HR 544 — To provide a private right of action against the maker of any component of a ghost gun, and any pers · 119th Cong
• HR 9868 — Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act · 118th Cong
• HR 5005 — Safer Supervision Act of 2023 · 118th Cong
• S 4217 — Next Step Home Act · 118th Cong
• S 1248 — Safer Detention Act of 2023 · 118th Cong
• S 1247 — Terry Technical Correction Act · 118th Cong