Emergency application · Capital case
DNA testing before execution
James Aren Duckett v. Florida
What did the Court do?
The Court denied the request on July 28, 2026 and refused to halt the execution.
Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.
What's being asked
James Duckett, a Florida prisoner under a death sentence, asked the Supreme Court to pause his execution. He also asked the Court to consider quickly his request for Supreme Court review. His request concerns DNA testing of evidence from the 1987 murder and sexual battery case for which he was convicted. Duckett says newer testing could support his innocence or identify another suspect. The application says the Supreme Court of Florida upheld the Lake County Circuit Court's denial of his DNA-testing request.
What the Court did
The Court refused Duckett's request for a temporary pause of his execution. It also denied Supreme Court review (refused to hear his case). The Court did not publish how the justices voted.
What it means
The Court's emergency ruling addressed only a temporary pause, not whether Duckett should receive DNA testing. The record does not say whether further proceedings continue in Lake County Circuit Court or Supreme Court of Florida. It lists no related case on the main question and no Supreme Court argument.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 26A119. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.