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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Black voters and district maps

Wes Allen, Alabama Secretary of State v. Marcus Caster

Granted
No. 25A1316Stay applicationFiled by a state or local governmentPresented to Justice ThomasFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court granted the request on June 2, 2026: the lower court's ruling is on hold while the appeal continues.

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

Filed Ruled 6 days after filing

What's being asked

Wes Allen, Alabama's secretary of state, and state lawmakers Steve Livingston and Chris Pringle ask the Supreme Court to pause a May 26 order. The federal district court in Alabama adopted a preliminary injunction (an early order requiring or stopping action before a final decision). It also denied a stay (a temporary pause) during the appeal. The application excerpt does not explain what the underlying dispute is about.

What the Court did

The Court gave Alabama officials emergency help, putting the district court's May 26 order on hold (staying it). After Alabama timely asks for review, the pause ends if review is refused or after judgment if review is granted. The order gives no vote tally; Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented (disagreed with the result).

  • Dissented
  • Wrote separately
  • Vote not published
Dissenting · 3recorded against the Court's order
  1. Sotomayorwrote a dissent
  2. Kaganjoined Sotomayor's writing
  3. Jacksonjoined Sotomayor's writing
Vote not published · 6the order does not say how they voted
  1. Roberts
  2. Thomas
  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.
Half of 70 rulings on applications where the Court asked for a response came 12 to 27 days after filing, and the median was 17 days; this one was ruled on 6 days after filing.

What it means

This temporary pause does not decide who wins the underlying case. The case continues in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. No related Supreme Court case deciding the main legal question is listed, and no argument is set.

Separate writings

  • Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Kagan and Justice Jackson, dissenting

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A1316. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 4, 2026