Skip to main content
Supreme Court Case Tracker

Emergency application · Capital case

Melvin Trotter v. Florida

Denied
No. 25A926Stay applicationFiled by a prisoner facing executionPresented to Justice ThomasFrom Supreme Court of Florida

What did the Court do?

The Court denied the request on February 24, 2026 and refused to halt the execution.

Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.

Filed Ruled 5 days after filing

What's being asked

A prisoner facing execution asks the Supreme Court to halt (stay) an execution. The case is Melvin Trotter v. Florida.

What the Court did

Application (25A926) for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Thomas any by him referred to the Court is denied. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied. Statement of Justice Sotomayor respecting the denial of the application for stay of execution and denial of certiorari (Detached Opinion ).

Vote not published · 9the order does not say how they voted
  1. Thomas
  2. Roberts
  3. Alito
  4. Sotomayorwrote a statement
  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.
Days from filing to a ruling for 7 rulings on capital applications decided without a response since January 1, 2025. The band is the middle half, the tick the median, and the mark this application: ruled 5 days after filing.

What it means

The Court's refusal leaves the execution to go forward as scheduled unless another court or official halts it.

Separate writings

  • Justice Sotomayor respecting the order

    Read (PDF)

  • SS, dissenting

    Read (PDF)

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A926. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked September 24, 2026