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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Police officers' anonymity

Doe John v. Seattle Police Department

Denied
No. 24A1285Stay applicationFiled by a private partyPresented to Justice KaganFrom Superior Court of Washington, King County

What did the Court do?

The Court denied the request on July 8, 2025: the lower court's ruling stays in effect while the appeal continues.

Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.

Filed Ruled 13 days after filing

What's being asked

John Does 1, 2, 4, and 5 ask the Supreme Court to pause a mandate from the King County Superior Court. The order bars them from using pseudonyms and unseals docket No. 187.

What the Court did

Justice Kagan refused the emergency help and denied the application (turned it down). The Court did not publish how the justices voted.

Vote not published · 9the order does not say how they voted
  1. Roberts
  2. Thomas
  3. Alito
  4. Sotomayor
  5. Kagan
  6. Gorsuch
  7. Kavanaugh
  8. Barrett
  9. Jackson
The order does not say how any justice voted, as is usual on the emergency docket.
Half of 302 rulings on applications decided without a response came 8 to 28 days after filing, and the median was 14 days; this one was ruled on 13 days after filing.

What it means

This emergency ruling addresses only the request for a temporary pause; it does not decide who wins the underlying case. The King County Superior Court mandate is not paused. No related merits case is listed, and no argument is set.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 24A1285. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 4, 2026