On September 24, the Solicitor General sought an emergency stay, as well as an administrative stay, of the Boston District Court's order blocking third-country removals.
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General → seek → removals
Justice Jackson promptly issued a schedule with the briefs due on September 28, but did not grant an administrative stay.
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Jackson → issue → stay
The Solicitor General, perhaps anticipating this denial, preemptively asked that the denied application should be referred to the full Court.
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application → anticipate → Court
At the time, I speculated that by virtue of Jackson's denial of the administrative stay, the case was effectively referred to the full court.
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case → speculate → court
Another theory a colleague suggested is that the Justices had already discussed the case, and the four-day briefing schedule was something of a compromise.
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schedule → suggest → compromise
That is, Jackson could have given a week or longer, but that delay would have triggered an administrative stay.
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delay → give → stay
To avoid that outcome, Jackson agreed to a shorter briefing schedule.
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Jackson → avoid → schedule
I suppose that's possible, but if Jackson was unwilling to vote for a stay, and knew there were five votes for a stay, what exactly would that compromise buy?
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compromise → suppose → what
In any event, the Court did not wait for Justice Jackson to formally refer the case to the Court.
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Jackson → wait → Court
On September 29 around 2:40 ET, the government filed its reply brief.
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government → file → brief
About 40 minutes later, the Court issued a very detailed order granting a stay, treating the application as a cert petition, granting that petition, and setting the case for argument in December.
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Court → issue → December
The Court also requested briefing on at least three specific questions presented:
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Court → request → questions
The application for stay presented to Justice Jackson and by her referred to the Court is granted.
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application → present → Court
The February 25, 2026 order and judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, case No. 1:25-cv-10676, are stayed.
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order → stay → Massachusetts
The application is also treated as a petition for a writ of certiorari, and the petition is granted.
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petition → treat → certiorari
The parties are directed to brief and argue the following questions: (1) Whether the district court had jurisdiction over Respondents' claims.
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court → direct → claims
(2) Whether the district court had authority to enter classwide declaratory relief and APA vacatur under 8 U. S. C. §1252(f)(1).
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court → have → §
(3) Whether the Government's Guidance on third-country removals is unlawful under 8 U. S. C. §1231(b), the Due Process Clause, or FARRA/CAT and its implementing regulations.
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Guidance → implement → §
(4) Such other questions that the Government determines are appropriate for the proper disposition of the case.
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Government → determine → case
The Clerk is directed to establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in the December 2026 argument session.
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case → direct → session
The stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court.
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stay → terminate → Court
Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would deny the application for stay.
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Sotomayor → deny → stay
The Justices did not need all of the briefing to grant this stay.
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Justices → need → stay
The die was cast as soon as the application was filed.
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application → cast → ?
Moreover, it is fairly rare for the Court poses specific questions presented after treating an application for a stay as a cert petition.
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Court → pose → petition
The Court took this path in Trump v. Slaughter (25A264), Department of Education v. Brown (22A489), and United States v. Texas (22A17).
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Court → take → Texas
The fourth proposed question is something I could not find in any other case: "Such other questions that the Government determines are appropriate for the proper disposition of the case."
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Government → propose → case
The Court may be looking for other ways to dump this case.
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Court → look → case
The interim docket continues to evolve.
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docket → continue → ?
The Aporia
