Here’s what to know about Maxwell’s petition and its implications.

What’s the issue?
Maxwell argues she was unfairly charged in New York, citing Epstein’s notorious non-prosecution agreement in Florida that said, in part, that “the United States also agrees that it will not institute any criminal charges against any potential co-conspirators of Epstein.”

Her lawyers present the issue as one that requires the justices to resolve a split among the nation’s appellate courts regarding whether a promise on behalf of the “United States” or the “Government” that’s made by a U.S. attorney in one district binds federal prosecutors in other districts.

As a general matter, one of the reasons the justices will take an appeal is when there’s a so-called circuit split to resolve, which is why Maxwell’s lawyers have presented her appeal in this way.

The Trump Justice Department opposed Maxwell’s petition. Among the DOJ’s arguments for denial, it says that while “the United States” could theoretically refer to the entire federal government, the full context of Epstein’s agreement shows the broad term is used as an alternative way to refer to the particular U.S. attorney’s office making the agreement.......

When will we find out?
There’s no set timeline for the justices to decide. For one thing, they sometimes consider petitions over the course of multiple conferences before deciding whether to grant or deny review. But we might hear about new cases the court is taking later in the week, and we could learn whether the petition is denied when the court publishes a list of actions taken in pending appeals when the new term starts Oct. 6.