Supreme Court Case Tracker

Glossary

Stay

Supreme Court glossaryAll terms

Definition

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

Why it matters

In Supreme Court practice, stay requests can determine what happens while appeals or emergency applications are pending.

In practice

Stay applications ask the Court to preserve or pause legal conditions while review continues, often on an emergency schedule.

Focus on what action is paused, how long the pause lasts, and whether the order previews merits concerns.

Common confusion

A stay is temporary. It does not itself decide the underlying legal question unless paired with a merits ruling.

Examples

Before ArgumentsGoldman Sachs Bank USA, dba Marcus by Goldman Sachs v. Rhea Ann BrownGoldman Sachs Bank USA asks the Supreme Court to review a Fourth Circuit ruling that allowed a borrower’s claim for money damages based on an alleged violation of the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic stay to proceed in bankruptcy court rather than arbitration. The case concerns when, if ever, the Bankruptcy Code overrides the Federal Arbitration Act’s general requirement that valid arbitration agreements be enforced.Stay request25-1408 Before ArgumentsIn Re Devin Randolph, PetitionerDevin Randolph asks the Supreme Court to issue a writ of mandamus directing the federal district court in the Southern District of Ohio to correct and manage numerous aspects of his civil case, including the operative complaint, parties, service, default-related requests, medical accommodations, and discovery. He also seeks emergency relief and reassignment or transfer of the case, potentially to the Southern District of New York.Stay request25-7626 Before ArgumentsBlessing Nwosu, Petitioner v. 1600 West Loop South, L.L.C., et al.Blessing Nwosu asks the Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit’s ruling on her claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, a federal law that prohibits racial discrimination in making and enforcing contracts. She alleges that restaurant staff singled her out because she is Black by placing a wool shawl on her without consent while leaving similarly or more casually dressed non-Black diners undisturbed, and that her decision to remain at the restaurant should not bar her claim.Stay request25-1340

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