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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Gary Kidgell v. Merced County, CA

Denied
No. 25A214Stay applicationFiled by a private partyPresented to Justice KaganFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court denied the request on August 25, 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 7 days after filing

What's being asked

Gary Kidgell asks the Supreme Court to temporarily pause a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. His case is against Merced County and others, but the docket does not describe the ruling or explain the dispute.

What the Court did

Justice Kagan refused Kidgell's request for a temporary pause, denying (turning down) the application. The Court did not publish how the justices voted, and this emergency ruling does not decide who wins the underlying case.

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 7 days after filing.

What it means

The Ninth Circuit ruling was not put on hold, so the case can continue there. This emergency ruling does not resolve the underlying dispute; no related Supreme Court case is listed, and no argument was set.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A214. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 4, 2026