Terms defined

Supreme Court glossary

Plain-English definitions for the words that recur on the docket, each linked to a live case where one exists.

11 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.

The Supreme Court has agreed to review a case after a party asked it to issue a writ of certiorari.

A concurring opinion agrees with the Court's judgment but explains separate or narrower reasoning.

DIG means dismissed as improvidently granted: the Court drops a case after deciding it should not have granted review.

A dissenting opinion explains why one or more justices disagree with the Court's judgment or reasoning.

An injunction is a court order requiring someone to do something or stop doing something.

A merits brief is a party's main written argument about how the Supreme Court should decide the case.

A per curiam opinion is issued in the name of the Court rather than under a single justice's authorship.

A remand sends a case back to a lower court for more proceedings after the reviewing court acts.

Shadow docket is an informal label for emergency orders and other actions outside the Court's full merits schedule.

A stay is a temporary pause of a lower-court order, judgment, deadline, or proceeding.