As I mentioned in Update #12, pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 11, I decided to remove Case #21-5161 from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and take my case directly to the Supreme Court, which states:

Rule 11: Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals Before Judgment

A petition for a writ of certiorari to review a case pending in a United States court of appeals, before judgment is entered in that court, will be granted only upon a showing that the case is of such imperative public importance as to justify deviation from normal appellate practice and to require immediate determination in this Court. See 28 U. S. C. § 2101(e).

So, in lieu of an Appellate Brief, I filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in the Supreme Court, which was received by the Clerk on November 5, 2021 and docketed as Case #21-6483.

Elizabeth Prelogar, the Solicitor General of the United States, was required to respond to the Petition by January 3, 2022, which she did by waiving the right of the Department of State to Respond.

According to the Court’s Docket, on January 20, 2022, my Petition was distributed to Conference of February 18, 2022.

Shortly thereafter, on February 22, 2022, the Court dismissed my case with these words “Petition DENIED”.

So, now, my passport Case #21-5161 returns to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for further prosecution.

On February 22, 2022, the Supreme Court Clerk issued a letter informing the Clerk for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that my Petition for a Writ of Certiorari had been denied.

On that same day, the Clerk for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an ORDER stating “By order dated September 23, 2021, appellant was directed to file his brief and appendix by November 2, 2021. To date, the court is not in receipt of appellant’s brief or appendix. Upon consideration of the foregoing, it is ORDERED that this case be dismissed for lack of prosecution (per D.C. Cir. Rule 38).

Then, the next day, on February 23, 2022, the Clerk issued an ORDER vacating the Order dismissing my case, reinstating it and setting forth a Briefing Schedule, as follows:

Appellant’s Brief - April 14, 2022

Appendix - April 14, 2022

Appellee’s Brief - May 16, 2022

Appellant’s Reply Brief - June 6, 2022

So, in spite of the District Court and Supreme Court’s obstacles to kill it, my passport case remains alive and well in the Court of Appeals. Time will tell of its fate there.