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Emergency application · Capital case

Kenneth Nelsen, Warden v. Christa Gail Pike

Granted
No. 26A428Vacatur applicationFiled by a state or local governmentPresented to Justice KavanaughFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court granted the request on September 30, 2026 and wiped out (vacated) the lower-court order it challenged.

Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case. Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would have ruled the other way.

Filed Ruled 0 days after filing

What's being asked

A state or local government asks the Supreme Court to undo (vacate) a lower-court order from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The case is Kenneth Nelsen, Warden v. Christa Gail Pike.

What the Court did

Application (26A428) to vacate stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Kavanaugh and by him referred to the Court is granted. The September 30, 2026 order of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, case No. 26-5864, granting a stay of execution is vacated. Justice Sotomayor, with whom Justice Kagan and Justice Jackson join, dissenting. (Detached Opinion)

  • Dissented
  • Wrote separately
  • Vote not published
Dissenting · 3recorded against the Court's order
  1. Sotomayorwrote a dissent
  2. Kaganjoined Sotomayor's writing
  3. Jacksonjoined Sotomayor's writing
Vote not published · 6the order does not say how they voted
  1. Roberts
  2. Thomas
  3. Alito
  4. Gorsuch
  5. Kavanaugh
  6. Barrett
The order records the positions of 3 of 9 justices. The Court usually does not say how each justice voted on an emergency application, so the rest are shown as not published.
Days from filing to a ruling for 59 rulings on capital applications decided without a response since January 1, 2025: half took between 2 and 5 days (the band), and the median was 3 days (the tick). The mark is this application: ruled 0 days after filing.

What it means

This is a temporary order about what happens while the case is decided, not a ruling on who is right. The case continues in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Separate writings

  • Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Kagan and Justice Jackson, dissenting

    Read (PDF)

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 26A428. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked October 1, 2026