A
Administrative stay
An administrative stay is a short pause of a lower court's order that gives the Court time to consider an emergency application. It is not a ruling on the application.
Supreme Court glossary
18 termsA to Z
Amicus brief
An amicus brief is a filing by a non-party, often called a friend of the court, offering extra legal or practical context.
C
Cert granted
The Supreme Court has agreed to review a case after a party asked it to issue a writ of certiorari.
Certiorari before judgment
Certiorari before judgment lets the Supreme Court take a case before the federal court of appeals has ruled on it.
Circuit justice
The circuit justice is the justice assigned to a region of federal courts, called a circuit, who first receives that region's emergency applications.
Concurring opinion
A concurring opinion agrees with the Court's judgment but explains separate or narrower reasoning.
D
DIG
DIG means dismissed as improvidently granted: the Court drops a case after deciding it should not have granted review.
Dissenting opinion
A dissenting opinion explains why one or more justices disagree with the Court's judgment or reasoning.
E
Emergency application
An emergency application asks the Supreme Court to act quickly, usually to pause a lower court's order or block a law or policy while the case goes on.
I
Injunction
An injunction is a court order requiring someone to do something or stop doing something.
Injunction pending appeal
An injunction pending appeal is an emergency order that blocks a law or action while an appeal goes on, usually after the lower courts refused to block it.
M
Merits brief
A merits brief is a party's main written argument about how the Supreme Court should decide the case.
P
Per curiam
A per curiam opinion is issued in the name of the Court rather than under a single justice's authorship.
Purcell principle
The Purcell principle, named for a 2006 Supreme Court decision, says federal courts should avoid changing a state's election rules close to an election.
R
Remand
A remand sends a case back to a lower court for more proceedings after the reviewing court acts.
S
Shadow docket
Shadow docket is a nickname for the Supreme Court's emergency docket: fast, temporary orders on urgent requests, made outside the usual schedule of briefs and arguments.
Stay
A stay is a temporary pause of a lower-court order, judgment, deadline, or proceeding.
Stay pending appeal
A stay pending appeal pauses a lower court's order while the case is appealed, so the order does not take effect while the appeal goes on.