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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Emergency application

Denise Smith v. Brown, Savage, Britto, Stitely & Callahan, LLP

Denied
No. 26A619Stay applicationFiled by a private partyPresented to The Chief JusticeFrom Supreme Court of Maryland

What did the Court do?

The Court denied the request on November 3, 2026: the lower court's ruling stays in effect while the appeal continues.

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

Filed Ruled 7 days after filing

What's being asked

Private party Denise Smith asks the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a ruling by the Supreme Court of Maryland. The case names Brown, Savage, Britto, Stitely & Callahan, LLP, and others as opposing parties. The record does not explain the dispute or describe the ruling.

What the Court did

The Chief Justice refused Denise Smith’s request for a temporary pause and denied (turned down) her application. The order gives no explanation. The Court did not publish how the justices voted.

Vote not published · 9the order does not say how they voted
  1. Roberts
  2. Thomas
  3. Alito
  4. Sotomayor
  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.
Half of 297 rulings on applications decided without a response came 8 to 28 days after filing, and the median was 14 days; this one was ruled on 7 days after filing.

What it means

The Supreme Court of Maryland’s ruling is not paused; this emergency ruling does not decide who wins the underlying case. The docket lists no related case before the Supreme Court and no argument date.

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 26A619. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked November 3, 2026