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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Pausing a court ruling

Henry Wade v. United States

Denied
No. 25A803Stay applicationFiled by a private partyPresented to Justice ThomasFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court denied the request on January 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 15 days after filing

What's being asked

Henry Wade asks the Supreme Court for a temporary pause (stay) of a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The record does not describe the ruling's subject or the underlying dispute.

What the Court did

Justice Thomas refused Wade’s request for emergency help and denied the application. The record does not say 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 215 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 15 days after filing.

What it means

The emergency ruling only addresses Wade's request for a temporary pause; it does not decide who wins the underlying case. The Eleventh Circuit ruling remains in place. No related Supreme Court case is listed, and no argument is set.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A803. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 3, 2026