Reader’s guide · Georgia
Ahmaud Arbery: federal convictions and a separate state case
Read the November 2025 Bryan opinion with federal jurisdiction, the majority’s holding and the partial dissent kept distinct from the state prosecution.
- Record
- United States v. Bryan and consolidated appeals, No. 22-12792
- Issued by
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- Date
- November 14, 2025
- Document
- Court opinion
Reading the record
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the federal convictions of William Bryan, Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael arising from Ahmaud Arbery’s killing. The court’s federal analysis is separate from the Georgia murder prosecution.
The opinion discusses the federal statutes and the connections required for federal jurisdiction. Its conclusion affirms the convictions. The partial dissent disputes the majority’s analysis of attempted-kidnapping jurisdiction; a dissent advocating a different result is not the court’s disposition.
The document lets readers follow that distinction directly: identify the charges, read the majority’s reasoning, then compare the dissent. It does not combine the federal and state cases into a single appeal.
Questions to take to the source
- Which federal convictions are being reviewed?
- How does the majority analyze the use of trucks in the jurisdictional question?
- What does the partial dissent contest, and which result controls this opinion?
Follow the evidence
Open the source record
These links open the cited documents on their hosts. No account or email is needed to read this guide.
- United States v. Bryan — official 2025 opinion PDF
Official court PDF; the majority’s disposition is on PDF page 43, followed by the partial dissent.
Companion reading for True Crime Georgia: The Savannah Files. This guide addresses the dated records above; later proceedings may have their own decisions.