On July 27, 2026, the Solicitor General submitted an emergency application in Trump v. California.
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General → submit → California
This case concerns proposed regulations for mail-in ballots.
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case → concern → ballots
The government filed its reply brief on August 12.
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government → file → August
After a flurry of litigation in the lower court, and new action by the government, the Supreme Court finally decided the case on August 24.
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Court → decide → August
This emergency case took nearly a month.
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case → take → month
The majority opinion, at a brisk ten pages, finds the District Court lacked jurisdiction because the case was not yet ripe.
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case → find → jurisdiction
Moreover, any alleged injuries were speculative under Clapper.
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injuries → allege → Clapper
The per curiam opinion reads a lot of Justice Kavanaugh's voice.
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opinion → read → voice
I do like the word "concretize."
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I → like → word
Justice Kavanuagh has taken the lead in writing some of the Court's more significant jurisdictional cases.
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Kavanuagh → take → cases
One would think that a former federal courts professor in the majority would get these cases, but apparently not.
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professor → think → cases
Justice Sotomayor's pithy dissent covers all the bases in only four pages.
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dissent → cover → pages
Then there is Justice Jackson.
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Jackson → be → ?
She wrote a solo twenty-page dissent that discusses the merits of the case, even though the majority only addressed the jurisdictional issues.
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majority → write → issues
She also warns that the Court's precedents are creating a "Kafkaesque nightmare."
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precedents → warn → nightmare
The only nightmare here is the fact that the Court let KBJ take nearly a month from the date of the application to write this dissent.
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KBJ → let → dissent
It seems that all of the Justices were ready to go shortly after the briefing concluded.
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briefing → seem → Justices
But Jackson dragged out the process so long that the posture in the lower court changed.
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posture → drag → court
Some critics have faulted the Court for not addressing the recent developments.
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critics → fault → developments
Any change by the majority might trigger another two week delay from Justice Jackson.
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change → trigger → Jackson
Justice Jackson has proven that she sees no need for urgency when the Trump Administration submits an emergency application, especially when the case comes from the First Circuit.
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case → prove → Circuit
She slow-walked the petition in Libby v. Fectau.
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She → walk → Libby
My nickname, the Laborious KBJ, still fits.
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nickname → fit → ?
I will give you a preview of a future installment from my SCOTUSBlog series on Court Reform.
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I → give → Reform
I call it the "Release-6."
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I → call → Release-6
For any matter, six Justices can force the release of an opinion immediately.
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Justices → force → opinion
This rule would apply on both the merits and emergency dockets.
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rule → apply → merits
The majority opinion could be published right away, with a notation that a dissent is forthcoming.
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dissent → publish → notation
A super-majority of the Court can bring a pending matter to an immediate conclusion.
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majority → bring → conclusion
If a Justice wishes, he or she can publish the dissent at a later date, but the business of the Court will move forward.
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business → wish → Court
There are some emergency matters where an immediate resolution is essential for the government or the private parties.
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resolution → be → government
It may also not be viable to keep an administrative stay in effect for an extended period of time.
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It → keep → time
With the Release-6, six members of the Court can issue their judgment, and the dissent can come later, or not at all.
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dissent → issue → judgment
There were six clear votes to grant a stay, and a single dissenter held the matter up for weeks. Release-6.
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dissenter → be → weeks
The Supreme Court forced out a ruling in A.A.R.P. v. Trump before Justices Alito and Thomas could write their dissent.
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Alito → force → dissent
Cooper v. Aaron was decided before Justice Frankfurter could finish his concurrence.
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Frankfurter → decide → concurrence
In an emergency case, the Court can act before the separate writings are ready.
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writings → act → case
Justice Jackson should receive the same treatment.
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Jackson → receive → treatment
The Aporia
