A quirk on the Supreme Court's docket has been noticed, where an order from a Justice appears before reply briefs filed earlier, as seen in Hoskins v. Von Glahn. In one instance, Circuit Justice Kavanaugh's denial of the order was entered after the reply briefs were filed, but his order appears first on the docket. The exact reason for this sorting is unclear, with some speculating that the Justice's order may have precedence at any given time.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-09,
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Story summary
A peculiar feature of the Supreme Court's online docket has been observed by law professor and commentator Josh Blackman. In the case of Hoskins v. Von Glahn, which dealt with Missouri's congressional maps, the Circuit Justice Brett Kavanaugh issued an order on September 8 in the evening, but it appears on the docket before the reply briefs that were filed earlier that morning. This unusual sorting feature seems to place a Justice's order ahead of related documents, even if those documents were submitted first. The reasons behind this quirk are unclear, and Blackman speculates that it might be because the Justice's action takes precedence on a given day.
Written for “Supreme Court Justice Process Changes” on 2026-09-09,
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I've noticed a quirk on the Supreme Court's docket.
asserted
I → notice → docket
Often, an order from a Justice will be entered before the notation for reply briefs, even though the reply briefs were filed before the order.
asserted
briefs → enter → order
Such is the case with Hoskins v. Von Glahn, which concerned Missouri's congressional maps.
asserted
which → concern → maps
The reply briefs were filed in the early hours of Tuesday, September 8.
asserted
briefs → file → Tuesday
Then, around 6:00 in the evening, Circuit Justice Kavanaugh denied the order in chambers.
asserted
Kavanaugh → deny → chambers
Yet, on the docket, Kavanaugh's order appears before the reply briefs.
asserted
order → appear → briefs
If you were to just look at this docket, you might think that the reply briefs were filed after the Circuit Justice order, which would make no sense.
uncertain
which → look → sense
I'm not sure why they are sorted like this.
asserted
they → sort → this
Perhaps the Justice's order always takes precedence in a given day?
asserted
order → take → day
