---
title: "Decision Trees"
module_id: "MOD-DECISION-TREES-INDEX"
url: "https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/decision-trees/"
current_through: "2026-08-26"
legal_review: "2026-08-25"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Federal Process Decision Trees

These trees classify a federal procedural problem; they do not predict an outcome. Each route ends at a canonical module, and the linked module and claim records control over the shorthand.

## Whole-case router

| Routing question | Route | Canonical module | Stop condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| The criminal case has not reached final judgment | Use the charging, pretrial, plea/trial, sentencing, or direct-review stage that matches the actual docket posture. | [Index](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/10-investigation-and-charging.md) | Do not use post-conviction labels to bypass a pending criminal proceeding. |
| A verdict or finding is challenged before or around judgment | Classify Rule 29, mistrial, verdict, juror, Rule 33, sentencing, and notice-of-appeal timing separately. | [Rule 29, Mistrial, Verdict, and Juror Misconduct](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/30-plea-and-trial/rule-29-mistrial-verdict-and-juror-misconduct.md) | Record verdict, filing, sentencing, judgment, and appeal dates. |
| The federal conviction or sentence itself is attacked while the movant is in custody | Start with the initial § 2255 modules in the sentencing court. | [Initial Section 2255 Motion, Filing, and Limitations](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/60-post-conviction/2255-initial-motion-and-limitations.md) | Check custody, limitations trigger, waiver/default, record, and requested remedy. |
| A later filing again attacks a federal judgment | Classify the judgment, claim, ripeness, and prior disposition before calling it second or successive. | [Later Section 2255 Filings — Classification and Authorization](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/60-post-conviction/2255-later-filings-classification-and-authorization.md) | Do not classify by paper count alone. |
| The challenge concerns present execution of a federal sentence | Classify the challenged BOP action, respondent, district, remedy record, and § 2241 route. | [28 U.S.C. § 2241 — Filing, Custodian, District, and Administrative Exhaustion](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/60-post-conviction/2241-filing-jurisdiction-respondent-and-exhaustion.md) | Separate execution from judgment validity and conditions claims. |
| The requested relief is a statutory sentence modification | Route among § 3582(c)(1)(A), § 3582(c)(2), § 3582(c)(1)(B), First Step Act § 404, and Rules 35/36. | [18 U.S.C. § 3582 — Sentence-Modification Remedy Router](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/70-sentence-modification/section-3582-remedy-router.md) | Vehicle, gate, eligible change, remedy, and appeal rules are not interchangeable. |
| The issue is BOP computation, credits, designation, discipline, programming, or placement | Use the sentence-execution modules and preserve the complete agency record. | [Index](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/80-sentence-execution-and-bop.md) | Distinguish eligibility, earning, application, discretion, and reviewability. |
| The issue arises during supervised release | Separate commencement, conditions, modification, early termination, transfer, violation, revocation, and collateral challenge. | [Index](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/90-supervised-release-and-reentry.md) | Use the current condition text, supervision chronology, docket, and circuit law. |
| Custody has ended but a conviction consequence remains | Classify coram nobis, executive clemency, and consequence-specific nonjudicial remedies separately. | [Extraordinary Writs — Coram Nobis, Audita Querela, and Mandamus](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/60-post-conviction/extraordinary-writs-coram-nobis-audita-querela-and-mandamus.md) | No-custody status alone does not establish a writ or a consequence remedy. |
| A circuit-specific procedural or merits question remains | Use the Supreme Court floor and the circuit with jurisdiction; stop at every not-verified row. | [Index](https://jason93.com/legal/federal-process/modules/95-circuit-overlays.md) | Run a current citator and current local-rule check before filing. |

## Stage sequence

```text
Federal process root
  -> investigation and charging
  -> pretrial
  -> plea or trial
  -> sentencing and judgment
  -> direct review and finality
  -> post-conviction, modification, or sentence execution
  -> supervised release and reentry
Every branch -> jurisdiction + deadline + record + remedy + circuit overlay checks
```

## Structured remedy routes

| Remedy control | Issue | Available relief | Limits | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `REMEDY-STA-DISMISSAL` | Speedy Trial Act charging or trial clock violation | Dismissal of the complaint charge under § 3162(a)(1), or dismissal of the indictment or information on a timely defense motion under § 3162(a)(2). | Dismissal may be with or without prejudice under statutory factors; trial-clock dismissal is waived if not sought before trial or plea. | `CLM-CHARGE-030`, `CLM-SPEEDY-004`, `CLM-SPEEDY-005`, `CLM-SPEEDY-007`, `CLM-SPEEDY-008` |
| `REMEDY-VENUE-RETRIAL` | reversal for constitutional venue or vicinage error | A new trial in the proper venue is constitutionally permitted. | Smith does not decide whether another independent bar prevents retrial. | `CLM-CHARGE-035` |
| `REMEDY-RULE-16-DISCOVERY-SANCTIONS` | failure to comply with Rule 16 | An order compelling discovery on just terms, a continuance, exclusion of undisclosed evidence, or another just order. | Rule 16(d)(2) makes sanction selection discretionary; appellate review and case-specific prejudice require controlling circuit law. | `CLM-DISC-012` |
| `REMEDY-JENCKS-RULE-26-2-NONPRODUCTION` | refusal to comply with a Jencks Act or Rule 26.2 production order | Strike the witness's testimony; when the government disobeys, declare a mistrial if justice or the interests of justice require it under the controlling text. | The statutory or rule trigger, statement definition, possession, relation to testimony, production order, and proceeding must be established. | `CLM-DISC-029`, `CLM-DISC-032` |
| `REMEDY-BRADY-NAPUE-GIGLIO` | material suppression or known false testimony violating due process | A new trial, reversal, or relief limited to the affected punishment issue may be available when the constitutional and procedural-vehicle requirements are met. | The correct vehicle, preservation, procedural default, timeliness, prejudice or reasonable-likelihood branch, scope of the affected judgment, and collateral-review restrictions control. | `CLM-DISC-016`, `CLM-DISC-020`, `CLM-DISC-023`, `CLM-DISC-025` |
| `REMEDY-SUPPRESSION-EXCLUSION` | evidence obtained through a proven constitutional violation or other exclusion ground | Suppression or exclusion to the extent the governing source makes that remedy available. | Exclusion is not automatic; personal-right, causation, good-faith, attenuation, impeachment, fruits, harmlessness, and other doctrine may limit relief. | `CLM-MOTION-008`, `CLM-MOTION-012`, `CLM-MOTION-014`, `CLM-MOTION-015` |
| `REMEDY-RULE14-PREJUDICIAL-JOINDER` | prejudice from joined offenses or defendants | Separate trials of counts, severed defendant trials, limiting instructions, or other relief justice requires. | Mutually antagonistic defenses do not compel severance; the asserted specific trial right, reliability risk, and adequacy of lesser measures control. | `CLM-MOTION-022`, `CLM-MOTION-023`, `CLM-MOTION-024` |
| `REMEDY-COMPETENCY-RESTORATION` | present incompetency to proceed | Pause adjudication and use the bounded examination, hearing, treatment, restoration, recovery, or separate civil-commitment procedures authorized by statute. | Competency does not establish insanity; restoration, medication, dangerousness, placement, and duration require current evidence and distinct findings. | `CLM-MENTAL-001`, `CLM-MENTAL-004`, `CLM-MENTAL-005`, `CLM-MENTAL-011` |
| `REMEDY-INSANITY-SPECIAL-VERDICT` | insanity established under 18 U.S.C. § 17 | A special verdict of not guilty only by reason of insanity followed by § 4243 custody, hearing, and release-risk procedure. | The defendant bears the § 17 trial burden and the postverdict § 4243 burden; competency and mental-condition mitigation are different issues. | `CLM-MENTAL-013`, `CLM-MENTAL-020`, `CLM-MENTAL-021`, `CLM-MENTAL-022` |
| `REMEDY-SIXTH-AMENDMENT-SPEEDY-DISMISSAL` | completed Sixth Amendment speedy-trial violation | Dismissal of the affected charge. | The constitutional violation first must be established through the complete Barker analysis; statutory Act dismissal has different preservation and prejudice-choice rules. | `CLM-SPEEDY-010`, `CLM-SPEEDY-014` |
| `REMEDY-PLEA-LOST-OFFER-IAC` | proven ineffective assistance causing a favorable formal offer to lapse or be rejected | A remedy calibrated to neutralize the lost plea opportunity; reoffering may be the first step and court discretion remains bounded by the case. | No right to an offer exists; deficiency, acceptance, prosecutorial action, judicial action, comparative outcome, and remedy must each be proved. | `CLM-PLEA-003`, `CLM-PLEA-004`, `CLM-PLEA-005`, `CLM-PLEA-006`, `CLM-PLEA-007` |
| `REMEDY-PLEA-GOVERNMENT-BREACH` | proven government breach of a promise inducing an entered guilty plea | Case-appropriate withdrawal or specific-performance resentencing; the court selects the remedy under the governing law. | Agreement construction, breach, preservation, plain error, prejudice, waiver, and remedy are distinct; no automatic defendant-selected remedy exists. | `CLM-PLEA-031`, `CLM-PLEA-032`, `CLM-PLEA-033`, `CLM-PLEA-034` |
| `REMEDY-PLEA-WITHDRAWAL` | request to withdraw a guilty or nolo plea | Withdrawal before acceptance for any or no reason; after acceptance but before sentence on agreement rejection or a fair and just reason; after sentence only through direct or collateral review. | The precise acceptance, agreement, rejection, sentencing, motion, and record dates control. | `CLM-PLEA-030`, `CLM-PLEA-042`, `CLM-PLEA-043`, `CLM-PLEA-044` |
| `REMEDY-RULE11-ERROR` | Rule 11 variance or judicial-participation violation | Vacatur only when the applicable preserved- or unpreserved-error standard is satisfied on the record; formal nonconstitutional error alone does not establish § 2255 relief. | Preservation, whole-record prejudice, constitutional character, jurisdiction, and the collateral standard must be classified separately. | `CLM-PLEA-046`, `CLM-PLEA-047`, `CLM-PLEA-048` |
| `REMEDY-GARZA-REQUESTED-APPEAL` | counsel disregarded an express instruction to appeal despite an appeal waiver | Restoration of the lost appeal opportunity under the governing post-conviction procedure without a merits showing for the foregone appeal. | The express instruction and lost proceeding must be proved; the waiver may still affect which appellate claims succeed. | `CLM-PLEA-039` |
| `REMEDY-JSSA-SUBSTANTIAL-FAILURE` | substantial failure to comply with the Jury Selection and Service Act | Before voir dire, stay proceedings pending lawful jury selection; after voir dire, grant appropriate relief including dismissal of an indictment returned by an unlawfully selected grand jury or a new trial after an unlawfully selected petit jury. | A timely motion, sworn statement and evidence, substantial failure, exact selection stage, and § 1867 remedy requirements must be established. | `CLM-TRIAL-008` |
| `REMEDY-RULE29-ACQUITTAL` | legally insufficient evidence of a charged offense | Judgment of acquittal; a final insufficiency determination bars retrial on the affected offense. | The elements, admitted evidence, procedural timing, and exact nature of the ruling must be established; trial error and a Rule 33 new-trial order are different. | `CLM-TRIAL-019`, `CLM-TRIAL-023`, `CLM-TRIAL-025`, `CLM-TRIAL-034` |
| `REMEDY-MISTRIAL-RETRIAL-CLASSIFICATION` | mistrial or partial jury deadlock | Discharge and retrial when manifest necessity supports a court-declared mistrial; unresolved counts after a partial verdict may be retried under Rule 31. | Consent, objection, alternatives, cause, record, prosecutorial intent, and any resolved counts control; a defendant-requested mistrial has the narrow Kennedy exception. | `CLM-TRIAL-027`, `CLM-TRIAL-028`, `CLM-TRIAL-029`, `CLM-TRIAL-030`, `CLM-TRIAL-031` |
| `REMEDY-RULE33-NEW-TRIAL` | interest of justice supports a new trial on a timely defendant motion | Vacate the judgment and grant a new trial; after a nonjury trial the court may take additional testimony and enter a new judgment. | Ground classification, timeliness, current Rule 45, pending appeal, controlling circuit merits, hearing, preservation, and appellate procedure remain distinct. | `CLM-R33-001`, `CLM-R33-002`, `CLM-R33-003`, `CLM-R33-005`, `CLM-R33-008`, `CLM-R33-009` |
| `REMEDY-SENTENCING-PROCEDURAL-CORRECTION` | material sentencing procedure, Guidelines, statutory-range, or explanation error | Preservation and direct appellate correction, ordinarily vacatur and resentencing when reversible error is established. | The precise error, preservation, prejudice or harmlessness, sentence package, appeal authorization, and controlling-circuit remedy law must be established; § 3553(a) is not a freestanding post-judgment vehicle. | `CLM-SENT-008`, `CLM-SENT-015`, `CLM-SENT-020`, `CLM-SENT-029`, `CLM-SENT-030`, `CLM-SENT-031`, `CLM-SENT-064` |
| `REMEDY-RESTITUTION-ORDER` | victim loss compensable under an applicable restitution statute | A restitution order for authorized losses, with victim, causation, amount, allocation, payment, and finality governed by §§ 3663, 3663A, and 3664. | The conviction statute, offense category, victim definition, causal limits, loss proof, offsets, deadlines, and any plea expansion must be established. | `CLM-SENT-036`, `CLM-SENT-037`, `CLM-SENT-038`, `CLM-SENT-039`, `CLM-SENT-040`, `CLM-SENT-041`, `CLM-SENT-042`, `CLM-SENT-043`, `CLM-SENT-044` |
| `REMEDY-CRIMINAL-FORFEITURE` | property or money judgment forfeitable under an offense-specific criminal statute | Preliminary and final criminal-forfeiture orders as part of the sentence, with an ancillary proceeding for third-party interests. | Charging notice, statutory nexus, property or amount, jury request, timing, substitute assets, third-party interests, and final judgment must be established. | `CLM-SENT-045`, `CLM-SENT-046`, `CLM-SENT-047`, `CLM-SENT-048`, `CLM-SENT-049`, `CLM-SENT-050`, `CLM-SENT-051` |
| `REMEDY-RULE35A-CORRECTION` | arithmetical, technical, or other clear error in the orally announced sentence | Narrow correction within fourteen days after oral sentence. | Not a general resentencing or reconsideration vehicle. | `CLM-SENT-060`, `CLM-R3536-004`, `CLM-R3536-006`, `CLM-R3536-012` |
| `REMEDY-RULE36-CLERICAL` | clerical error or oversight or omission in a judgment, order, or record | After appropriate notice, clerical correction at any time. | Rule 36 cannot substantively resentence or create a forfeiture never ordered. | `CLM-SENT-049`, `CLM-SENT-062`, `CLM-R3536-027`, `CLM-R3536-028`, `CLM-R3536-029`, `CLM-R3536-030` |
| `REMEDY-DIRECT-APPEAL-REVERSIBLE-ERROR` | reversible error within a properly noticed criminal appeal | The disposition authorized by the governing statute and issue-specific remedial law, potentially affirmance, reversal, vacatur, remand, dismissal, new trial, acquittal, or resentencing. | Jurisdiction, authorization, notice, waiver, preservation, prejudice, harmlessness, remedy-specific law, and the record must be established; no one remedy follows every error. | `CLM-DR-012`, `CLM-DR-016`, `CLM-DR-021`, `CLM-DR-022` |
| `REMEDY-ANDERS-NONFRIVOLOUS-ISSUE` | Anders review identifies an arguable nonfrivolous issue | Appoint or retain counsel for adversarial briefing before merits disposition. | The first-appeal posture, appointment status, actual record, circuit procedure, and identified issue must be established. | `CLM-DR-030`, `CLM-DR-031`, `CLM-DR-032` |
| `REMEDY-CERTIORARI-DISCRETIONARY-REVIEW` | compelling federal question after lower-court judgment | A discretionary writ of certiorari and, if granted, Supreme Court review and disposition. | Timeliness and proper filing do not create entitlement to review; Rule 10 considerations, jurisdiction, preservation, vehicle, record, and current filing rules control. | `CLM-DR-047`, `CLM-DR-048`, `CLM-DR-049`, `CLM-DR-050`, `CLM-DR-051` |
| `REMEDY-2255-MERITS-GRANT` | established § 2255(b) defect | Vacate and set aside the judgment, then discharge, resentence, grant a new trial, or correct the sentence as appropriate. | The selected remedy must match the proven constitutional, statutory, jurisdictional, or fundamental defect and remedy-specific law. | `CLM-2255-003`, `CLM-2255-059` |
| `REMEDY-CASTRO-UNWARNED-RECHARACTERIZATION` | unwarned first-motion recharacterization | Do not count the recharacterized filing as the first § 2255 motion for later second-or-successive restrictions. | Applies to the first-motion recharacterization posture and does not itself decide the underlying claim. | `CLM-2255-050` |
| `REMEDY-1631-TRANSFER-UNAUTHORIZED-2255` | filing lodged in a court lacking jurisdiction | Transfer to a court in which the matter could have been brought when filed, if the interest of justice supports transfer. | Section 1631 does not make transfer automatic; successive classification, receiving-court authority, timeliness consequences, circuit practice, and the interest of justice must be established. | `CLM-SOS-030`, `CLM-SOS-031` |
| `REMEDY-2241-CUSTODY-REDRESS` | relief on a cognizable § 2241 custody claim | Custody-focused relief tailored to the proven substantive entitlement and the decisionmaker's lawful authority. | Section 2241 alone does not create entitlement to credits, placement, designation, recalculation, or release; saving-clause availability, merits, discretion, continuing injury, and circuit remedy law remain separate. | `CLM-2241F-019`, `CLM-2241S-014`, `CLM-2241S-022`, `CLM-2241S-027`, `CLM-BOPSC-027`, `CLM-BOPAR-014`, `CLM-BOPAR-023`, `CLM-BOPAR-027` |
| `REMEDY-2241-TRANSFER-SUBSTITUTION` | custodian or district problem after filing or transfer | Depending on controlling law and the actual custody chain, substitution, retention, transfer, or dismissal may be considered. | No automatic remedy is established; the court's authority over a respondent able to effect relief, the receiving court, interest of justice, timeliness, and circuit procedure must be established. | `CLM-2241F-016`, `CLM-2241F-017`, `CLM-2241S-023` |
| `REMEDY-CORAM-NOBIS-VACATUR` | fundamentally defective completed federal conviction | Extraordinary relief from the original federal criminal judgment, including vacatur when the proven Morgan and controlling-circuit conditions warrant it. | No automatic post-custody fallback; no-other-remedy, delay, fundamental-error, consequence, burden, Article III, circuit, and case-record requirements control. | `CLM-XWRIT-005`, `CLM-XWRIT-008`, `CLM-XWRIT-016` |
| `REMEDY-MANDAMUS-DUTY` | extraordinary order compelling a legally required act | An extraordinary order requiring performance of a clear duty or confining a lower court to lawful authority when the governing mandamus conditions are met. | Cannot substitute for appeal or dictate the exercise of lawful discretion; existing jurisdiction, other avenues, clear right and duty, appropriateness, and local procedure control. | `CLM-XWRIT-026`, `CLM-XWRIT-027`, `CLM-XWRIT-028`, `CLM-XWRIT-029`, `CLM-XWRIT-030`, `CLM-XWRIT-031` |
| `REMEDY-PRESIDENTIAL-CLEMENCY` | executive mercy for a federal offense | A presidential pardon, commutation, reprieve, or remission on the terms stated in the grant. | Executive and discretionary; not judicial correction, no guaranteed process or decision date, and the exact warrant plus independent law control every asserted consequence. | `CLM-CLEM-001`, `CLM-CLEM-003`, `CLM-CLEM-017`, `CLM-CLEM-028`, `CLM-CLEM-029` |
| `REMEDY-RULE35B-SUBSTANTIAL-ASSISTANCE` | qualifying post-sentencing substantial assistance on the government's motion | A discretionary sentence reduction, including below a statutory minimum under current Rule 35(b)(3). | Government motion, timing track, substantial assistance, court discretion, circuit law, and any agreement all remain controlling; pre-sentence assistance is considered under current (b)(4). | `CLM-R3536-013`, `CLM-R3536-014`, `CLM-R3536-018`, `CLM-R3536-019`, `CLM-R3536-020`, `CLM-R3536-023` |
| `REMEDY-CRACK-SENTENCE-ROUTE-CLASSIFICATION` | later crack-cocaine sentence reduction | Route-specific consideration under First Step Act § 404 or § 3582(c)(2)/USSG § 1B1.10 when that route's eligibility and scope are satisfied. | The two routes are not interchangeable and neither guarantees a reduction. | `CLM-R3536-034`, `CLM-R3536-035`, `CLM-R3536-036`, `CLM-R3536-037` |
| `REMEDY-BOP-COMPUTATION-CORRECTION` | proven BOP sentence-commencement or prior-credit error | Agency correction through Part 542 or, for a live cognizable exhausted claim, judicial relief directing a lawful computation. | The remedy cannot award double credit, rewrite a judgment, select a prison, or exceed § 2241 jurisdiction and controlling circuit law. | `CLM-BOPSC-016`, `CLM-BOPSC-018`, `CLM-BOPSC-026`, `CLM-BOPSC-027`, `CLM-BOPSC-029` |
| `REMEDY-BOP-DISCIPLINE-CREDIT` | procedurally or evidentially invalid disciplinary credit loss | Administrative reversal, rehearing, expungement, restoration or recomputation as authorized; cognizable judicial relief must match the proven due-process or statutory error. | No automatic remedy follows from a regulatory delay; protected interest, prejudice, exhaustion, custody, and circuit remedy law control. | `CLM-BOPDDR-015`, `CLM-BOPDDR-023`, `CLM-BOPDDR-025`, `CLM-BOPDDR-026`, `CLM-BOPDDR-029` |
| `REMEDY-BOP-LAWFUL-RECONSIDERATION` | omitted mandatory consideration or other reviewable legal error in BOP placement administration | Where an authorized claim is proven, lawful reconsideration or compliance with the governing limit rather than judicial selection of the discretionary placement. | Sections 3621(b) and 3625, cognizability, cause of action, exhaustion, sovereign immunity, and circuit law may limit or foreclose review. | `CLM-BOPPRE-028`, `CLM-BOPPRE-031`, `CLM-BOPAR-020`, `CLM-BOPAR-022`, `CLM-BOPAR-023` |
| `REMEDY-SR-MODIFICATION-TERMINATION` | ongoing supervised-release condition or need for continued supervision | Before expiration, modification, reduction, enlargement, extension within the original maximum, or discretionary early termination after the one-year threshold as authorized by § 3583(e). | Rule 32.1(c), jurisdiction, the term calculation, statutory factors, and claim-specific finality or waiver law apply. | `CLM-SRTERM-018`, `CLM-SRTERM-021`, `CLM-SRTERM-022`, `CLM-SRCOND-011`, `CLM-SRCOND-016` |
| `REMEDY-SR-REVOCATION-DISPOSITION` | proven supervised-release violation | Continuation or modification where authorized, or revocation imprisonment and a possible additional supervised-release term within §§ 3583(e), (g), and (h). | The original offense class and statute, mandatory provisions, Esteras, Tapia, Haymond, prior revocation record, and current Chapter 7 guidance apply. | `CLM-SRREV-016`, `CLM-SRREV-017`, `CLM-SRREV-019`, `CLM-SRREV-020`, `CLM-SRREV-022`, `CLM-SRREV-024` |
| `REMEDY-SR-CONDITION-REENTRY` | condition-caused reentry burden or separate collateral consequence | Seek narrowly tailored condition modification or early termination when § 3583(e) reaches the burden; otherwise use the separately authorized consequence-specific decisionmaker and remedy. | Termination does not erase the conviction or automatically alter state, agency, immigration, registration, licensing, housing, employment, or private consequences. | `CLM-SRCOND-015`, `CLM-SRCOND-020`, `CLM-SRCOND-021`, `CLM-SRCOND-022`, `CLM-SRCOND-023` |

## Jurisdiction stops

| Jurisdiction control | Issue | Rule | Limitations | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `JUR-CRIMINAL-VENUE-OFFENSE-DISTRICT` | ordinary federal criminal charging and trial venue | The offense must ordinarily be prosecuted in a district where it was committed; constitutional text, Rule 18, the offense's conduct elements, and any statute control. | No offense-specific or case-specific venue is decided. | `CLM-CHARGE-033` |
| `JUR-CRIMINAL-VENUE-CONTINUING-OFFENSE` | multi-district and specified continuing offenses | Section 3237(a) permits the districts it identifies unless Congress expressly provides otherwise. | The charged conduct elements and any offense-specific enactment control. | `CLM-CHARGE-034` |
| `JUR-GOV-SUPPRESSION-INTERLOCUTORY` | government interlocutory review of suppression or exclusion | Section 3731 supplies appellate jurisdiction only for its covered orders and conditions, including certification and the Double Jeopardy limit. | The precise order, timing, certification, jeopardy, and notice must be verified. | `CLM-MOTION-025`, `CLM-MOTION-026` |
| `JUR-DEF-DOUBLE-JEOPARDY-COLLATERAL` | defendant interlocutory criminal appeal | Abney recognizes collateral-order jurisdiction for a colorable double-jeopardy denial, not a general route for other pretrial rulings. | Every additional issue requires an independent jurisdictional basis. | `CLM-MOTION-027` |
| `JUR-SELL-MEDICATION-COLLATERAL` | interlocutory review of a Sell medication order | A qualifying involuntary-medication order to restore competency is immediately appealable under the collateral-order doctrine. | The order and ground for medication must match Sell's jurisdictional holding. | `CLM-MENTAL-012` |
| `JUR-POSTPLEA-CLASS-POWER-TO-CONVICT` | direct constitutional attack after an unconditional guilty plea | A guilty plea by itself does not bar the bounded Class category challenging the government's constitutional power to convict without contradicting the charge, plea, or admitted facts. | Agreement waiver, claim content, preservation, admitted facts, and other jurisdictional statutes remain controlling. | `CLM-PLEA-011`, `CLM-PLEA-012`, `CLM-PLEA-041` |
| `JUR-APPEAL-WAIVER-NOT-TOTAL` | notice of appeal when the agreement contains an appeal waiver | An appeal waiver does not eliminate every possible appellate claim or counsel's duty to file a notice requested by the defendant. | This does not decide the merits, waiver enforcement, scope, exceptions, or appellate jurisdiction over a particular issue. | `CLM-PLEA-038`, `CLM-PLEA-039` |
| `JUR-DOUBLE-JEOPARDY-ACQUITTAL-RETRIAL` | retrial after an insufficiency ruling or trial-error reversal | A substantive insufficiency acquittal bars retrial, including one based on an erroneously added element; ordinary trial-error reversal does not. | The exact ruling and offense must be classified; labels do not control and separate appeal statutes remain necessary. | `CLM-TRIAL-025`, `CLM-TRIAL-034` |
| `JUR-MISTRIAL-RETRIAL` | retrial after mistrial | Manifest necessity can permit retrial after a court-declared mistrial; after a defendant-requested mistrial, only government conduct intended to provoke the request triggers Kennedy's retrial bar. | Consent, objection, cause, alternatives, resolved counts, prosecutorial intent, and the complete record govern. | `CLM-TRIAL-028`, `CLM-TRIAL-029`, `CLM-TRIAL-030` |
| `JUR-SENTENCING-STATUTORY-RANGE-FACTS` | fact used to increase a statutory maximum or mandatory minimum | Other than Apprendi's preserved prior-conviction exception, a statutory-range-increasing fact must be admitted or submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. | The charged offense, admission, verdict, prior-conviction issue, remedy, preservation, and retroactivity posture must be established. | `CLM-SENT-025`, `CLM-SENT-026` |
| `JUR-FINAL-SENTENCE-MODIFICATION` | district-court authority to modify an imposed term of imprisonment | An imposed imprisonment term is final and may be modified only through an express route in § 3582(c) or another applicable statute or rule; § 3553(a) alone is not authority. | The exact vehicle, timing, pending appeal, delegation, amendment, and controlling precedent must be identified. | `CLM-SENT-060`, `CLM-SENT-061`, `CLM-SENT-062`, `CLM-SENT-063` |
| `JUR-DIRECT-APPEAL-FINAL-DECISION` | defendant appeal from a federal criminal judgment | Section 1291 covers final district-court decisions, and the sentence ordinarily constitutes final criminal judgment. | The actual order, separate statutory routes, notice, standing, waiver, mootness, and remedy must be established. | `CLM-DR-011`, `CLM-DR-012` |
| `JUR-CRIMINAL-COLLATERAL-ORDER-NARROW` | interlocutory defendant criminal appeal | Criminal finality is stringent and collateral-order review is narrow; Flanagan rejects immediate counsel-disqualification review while Abney recognizes colorable double-jeopardy review. | The precise right, order, conclusiveness, separability, effective unreviewability, and controlling law must be established. | `CLM-DR-013`, `CLM-DR-014` |
| `JUR-CRIMINAL-SENTENCE-APPEAL` | review of an otherwise final federal sentence | Section 3742 supplies party-specific sentence-appeal grounds and disposition authority. | The party, statutory ground, preserved issue, waiver, record, and requested disposition control. | `CLM-DR-016` |
| `JUR-DEFERRED-RESTITUTION-NOTICE` | appeal of later deferred-restitution order | A notice from the later restitution order is mandatory when the government properly objects, whether or not the rule is jurisdictional. | The initial and amended judgments, notice text and dates, deferred order, and government invocation must be checked. | `CLM-DR-010` |
| `JUR-2255-SENTENCING-COURT` | initial federal collateral attack under § 2255 | The motion is made to the court that imposed the challenged federal sentence. | Custody, claim cognizability, saving-clause, successive, transfer, and separate-judgment issues remain distinct. | `CLM-2255-001`, `CLM-2255-004`, `CLM-2255-007` |
| `JUR-2255-APPEAL-COA` | appeal from final § 2255 order | Section 2253(c)(1)(B) makes a certificate jurisdictional for the prisoner's appeal; timely notice remains separately required. | Government appeals, interlocutory orders, postjudgment classification, issue expansion, and local procedure require separate analysis. | `CLM-2255-060`, `CLM-2255-065`, `CLM-2255-066`, `CLM-2255-067` |
| `JUR-2255-SUCCESSIVE-AUTHORIZATION` | district-court power over a legally second or successive § 2255 motion | Court-of-appeals panel certification must precede district-court merits consideration of a filing legally classified as second or successive. | Classification comes first; transfer, dismissal, mixed Rule 60 handling, and the consequence of a particular prior disposition require controlling circuit procedure. | `CLM-SOS-003`, `CLM-SOS-004`, `CLM-SOS-024`, `CLM-SOS-030` |
| `JUR-2241-CORE-CUSTODIAN-DISTRICT` | respondent and filing district for core present physical custody | Default respondent is the immediate custodian and the issuing court must have jurisdiction over that custodian, ordinarily requiring filing in the district of confinement. | Not a subject-matter-jurisdiction label; non-core custody, substitution, transfer, and the remedy for defects require posture- and circuit-specific authority. | `CLM-2241F-011`, `CLM-2241F-012`, `CLM-2241F-013`, `CLM-2241S-013`, `CLM-BOPSC-027`, `CLM-BOPPRE-030`, `CLM-BOPAR-014`, `CLM-BOPAR-015` |
| `JUR-2241-POSTFILING-TRANSFER` | physical transfer after a properly filed habeas application | A later transfer does not necessarily defeat properly acquired habeas authority where a respondent in the original district remains able to effect relief. | Actual custody chain, respondent authority, circuit substitution and transfer procedure, and redressability remain required. | `CLM-2241F-016`, `CLM-2241F-017`, `CLM-2241S-023`, `CLM-BOPSC-030`, `CLM-BOPAR-024` |
| `JUR-CORAM-ORIGINAL-CONVICTING-COURT` | federal coram nobis filing court | Coram nobis is a step in the original federal criminal case and is sought from the court that entered the conviction. | All Morgan thresholds, Article III injury, controlling circuit procedure, and the exact federal judgment remain required. | `CLM-XWRIT-005`, `CLM-XWRIT-006` |
| `JUR-MANDAMUS-APPELLATE-V-DISTRICT` | appellate supervision and district officer-duty mandamus | A court-of-appeals petition directed to a district judge proceeds under § 1651 and Rule 21; a district action to compel a federal officer or agency duty proceeds, if available, under § 1361. | Existing jurisdiction, proper respondent or target, clear duty, other remedies, local rules, and the requested act must be verified. | `CLM-XWRIT-026`, `CLM-XWRIT-027`, `CLM-XWRIT-028` |
| `JUR-CLEMENCY-FEDERAL-EXECUTIVE` | sovereign and decisionmaker for presidential clemency | The President's clemency power concerns offenses against the United States; state and other sovereign convictions require the separately responsible clemency authority. | Specified D.C. Code and territorial routes, military offenses, and mixed judgments require current offense-specific classification. | `CLM-CLEM-001`, `CLM-CLEM-002`, `CLM-CLEM-007` |
| `JUR-RULE35-36-SENTENCING-COURT` | court for Rules 35 and 36 | Rules 35 and 36 operate in the original federal criminal case before the sentencing court, subject to a pending appeal and Rule 37 where applicable. | The appealed order, docket status, circuit authority, and exact requested act remain required. | `CLM-R3536-003`, `CLM-R3536-008`, `CLM-R3536-032` |
| `JUR-SENTMOD-APPEAL-STATUTORY-BASIS` | sentence-modification appeal jurisdiction | The asserted appellate basis must be identified under § 1291, § 3742, or other applicable law; this system does not state one universal jurisdictional route for every postjudgment sentence order. | Vehicle, party, order, circuit doctrine, waiver, notice, and government authorization must be checked. | `CLM-R3536-040`, `CLM-R3536-044` |
| `JUR-BOP-SECTION-3625-CLASSIFICATION` | judicial review of BOP subchapter-C determinations | Apply § 3625's express APA exclusion and any separate § 3621(b) nonreviewability to the actual source and nature of the decision; classify distinct statutory, constitutional, and ultra vires claims separately. | Cognizability, cause of action, exhaustion, sovereign immunity, remedy, and controlling circuit law remain separate. | `CLM-BOPSC-007`, `CLM-BOPDDR-040`, `CLM-BOPPRE-028`, `CLM-BOPAR-019`, `CLM-BOPAR-020`, `CLM-BOPAR-022` |
| `JUR-SR-SECTION-3605-TRANSFER` | district holding supervised-release jurisdiction after transfer | A § 3605 transfer requires receiving-court concurrence; supervision elsewhere does not alone transfer judicial jurisdiction. | Verify the docketed order, concurrence, effective date, and any later transfer. | `CLM-SRTERM-027`, `CLM-SRTERM-028`, `CLM-SRCOND-014` |
| `JUR-SR-RULE32-CROSS-DISTRICT` | initial appearance and transfer from a district lacking revocation jurisdiction | Apply Rule 32.1(a)(5)'s distinct violation-in-arrest-district and violation-elsewhere paths; the jurisdiction court conducts the revocation hearing. | Arrest district, violation location, certified records, identity, and transfer history must be verified. | `CLM-SRREV-003`, `CLM-SRREV-004`, `CLM-SRREV-005` |
| `JUR-SR-SECTION-3583-I` | post-expiration revocation jurisdiction | Delayed revocation exists only when a warrant or summons issued before expiration, the matter arose before expiration, and the later period is reasonably necessary. | The term calculation and issuance record are jurisdictionally material; no automatic absconding tolling applies. | `CLM-SRREV-039`, `CLM-SRREV-040` |

## Mandatory final check

Before selecting any route, check pending proceedings, preservation, timeliness, exhaustion, custody, mootness, proper respondent, venue, successive consequences, waiver, standard of review, available remedy, appealability, COA, local rules, controlling circuit law, and the evidence needed to prove each factual predicate.