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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Pausing a court ruling

Latosha Ward v. Tony Ward

Denied
No. 25A1375Stay applicationFiled by a private partyPresented to The Chief JusticeFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court denied the request on June 15, 2026: 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 18 days after filing

What's being asked

Latosha Ward asks the Court to temporarily pause a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The record does not explain what that ruling or the dispute between Ward, Tony Ward, and others concerns.

What the Court did

The Chief Justice refused Ward’s request for emergency help (denied the application), so the Fourth Circuit ruling was not paused. This does not decide who wins the underlying dispute. The record does not show 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 252 rulings on applications decided without a response came 8 to 30 days after filing, and the median was 14 days; this one was ruled on 18 days after filing.

What it means

The Fourth Circuit ruling remains in place, but this emergency decision does not decide who wins the underlying dispute. The record lists no related Supreme Court case and no argument date for this application.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A1375. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 4, 2026