Emergency application
Successors bound by officials' decisions
Maranda Lynn ODonnell v. Linda Garcia, Judge, Criminal Court of Texas, Harris County
What did the Court do?
The Court denied the request on September 9, 2026: the lower court's ruling stays in effect while the appeal continues.
Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case.
What's being asked
Maranda O’Donnell and two other plaintiffs representing indigent misdemeanor arrestees ask the Supreme Court to pause the Fifth Circuit’s order while they seek review. Four Harris County criminal-court judges sought to end a federal consent decree, a court-approved agreement monitoring pretrial bail. The Fifth Circuit ordered a federal district judge to quickly consider their argument for ending it. The plaintiffs say the judges had waived that argument and challenge the need for a pre-election ruling.
What the Court did
Justice Alito refused the requested pause and denied (turned down) the application. The order does not decide who wins the underlying dispute, and the Court did not publish how the justices voted.
What it means
This temporary emergency ruling does not decide whether the consent decree should remain. The Fifth Circuit’s order remains in place, so the federal district court must quickly consider the judges’ argument to end the decree. No related case on the main question is listed, and the Court set no argument.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 26A296. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.