Supreme Court Throws Out Limit on Federal Prisoner Appeals

A federal appeals court previously said Michael S. Bowe’s appeal was barred, but in 2022, the Supreme Court allowed such appeals, so he reapplied.

Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor poses during a group photo of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff/Reuters

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5–4 on Jan. 9 to toss a procedural limit that had prevented a federal inmate from contesting a sentence.

The ruling increases the post-conviction legal options of federal prisoners seeking to challenge their sentences.