Emergency application
States' right to sue
Alabama v. California
What did the Court do?
The Court dismissed the request as moot (no longer a live dispute) on August 24, 2026.
Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case. Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would have ruled the other way.
What's being asked
Alabama and other states ask the Supreme Court to temporarily pause a court order from a federal court in Massachusetts. The application excerpt does not explain what the order concerns. Alabama argues California and other states lack the legal right to challenge certain provisions and that their challenge is premature.
What the Court did
The Court closed the application without deciding the request, denying it as moot (no longer a live dispute). Separately, the Court paused the Massachusetts federal court order pending the First Circuit appeal and any timely Supreme Court review. Justices Sotomayor and Jackson dissented (disagreed with the result); Justice Kagan signed Sotomayor’s dissent, and no vote count was published.
What it means
The separate pause is temporary and does not decide who wins the underlying dispute. The appeal continues in the First Circuit. The docket lists no related Supreme Court case on the main question and no argument date.
Separate writings
Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Kagan, dissenting
Justice Jackson dissenting
Sources
Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 26A139. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.