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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Pausing a court ruling

Duane A. Fairfax v. Tracey N. Martinez

Denied
No. 25A804Stay applicationFiled by a private partyPresented to The Chief JusticeFrom Supreme Court of Virginia

What did the Court do?

The Court denied the request on January 13, 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 11 days after filing

What's being asked

Duane A. Fairfax asks the Chief Justice to temporarily pause a ruling by the Supreme Court of Virginia. The record does not say what the ruling or the dispute with Tracey N. Martinez concerns.

What the Court did

The Chief Justice refused Fairfax’s request for a temporary pause. The order does not decide who wins the underlying dispute, and 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 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 11 days after filing.

What it means

This emergency ruling concerns only a temporary pause; it does not decide who wins the underlying dispute. The Supreme Court of Virginia’s ruling remains in place, and no related merits case or argument is listed.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A804. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 3, 2026