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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Bail while appeal is pending

Scott Edward Palmer v. Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division

Denied
No. 25A1022Bail applicationFiled by a private partyPresented to Justice AlitoFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court denied the request on March 19, 2026 for release while the case continues.

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

Filed Ruled 23 days after filing

What's being asked

Scott Edward Palmer asks the Supreme Court to release him or allow bail while his case is reviewed. The application concerns a Fifth Circuit ruling involving Palmer and Eric Guerrero, director of Texas's prison system; the record does not describe the ruling.

What the Court did

Palmer did not get emergency release or bail; Justice Alito denied the application (turned it down). That ruling addresses only his request, not who wins the underlying case. 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 212 rulings on applications decided without a response came 8 to 34 days after filing, and the median was 14 days; this one was ruled on 23 days after filing.

What it means

The emergency ruling does not decide who wins Palmer's underlying case. The record identifies the Fifth Circuit but lists no further proceedings there, related Supreme Court case, or argument date.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A1022. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 4, 2026