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Supreme Court Case Tracker

Emergency application · Capital case

Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division v. Edward Lee Busby

Granted
No. 25A1235Vacatur applicationFiled by a state or local governmentPresented to Justice AlitoFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court granted the request on May 14, 2026 and wiped out (vacated) the lower-court order it challenged.

Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case. Justice Kagan, Justice Jackson, and Justice Sotomayor would have ruled the other way.

Filed Ruled 3 days after filing

What's being asked

A state or local government asks the Supreme Court to undo (vacate) a lower-court order from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The case is Eric Guerrero, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division v. Edward Lee Busby.

What the Court did

Application (25A1235) to vacate stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is granted. The May 8, 2026 order of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, case Nos. 26-70004 and 26-10354, granting a stay of execution is vacated. Justice Kagan would deny the application to vacate the stay of execution. Justice Jackson, with whom Justice Sotomayor joins, dissenting from the grant of application to vacate stay. (Detached Opinion )

Dissenting · 3recorded against the Court's order
  1. Sotomayorjoined Jackson's writing
  2. Kaganwould deny
  3. Jacksonwrote a dissent
Vote not published · 6the order does not say how they voted
  1. Thomas
  2. Roberts
  3. Alito
  4. Gorsuch
  5. Kavanaugh
  6. Barrett
The order records the positions of 3 of 9 justices. The Court usually does not say how each justice voted on an emergency application, so the rest are shown as not published.
Days from filing to a ruling for 7 rulings on capital applications decided without a response since January 1, 2025. The band is the middle half, the tick the median, and the mark this application: ruled 3 days after filing.

What it means

This is a temporary order about what happens while the case is decided, not a ruling on who is right. The case continues in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Separate writings

  • Justice Jackson, joined by Justice Sotomayor, dissenting

    Read (PDF)

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A1235. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked September 24, 2026