Perry v. Perez
Headline: Court grants emergency stay of Texas district-court orders, pauses their effect while consolidating cases and scheduling expedited briefing and argument.
Holding: The Court granted the stay applications, paused the Western District of Texas orders pending further Court action, noted probable jurisdiction, and consolidated and expedited briefing and argument.
- Pauses enforcement of Western District of Texas orders pending Supreme Court action.
- Consolidates related cases and sets expedited briefing and argument dates.
- Notes probable jurisdiction, allowing the Court to review the cases.
Summary
Background
Applications to pause two orders from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas were presented to Justice Scalia and referred to the full Court. The lower-court orders at issue were entered on November 23 and November 26, 2011, in cases listed by number. The Supreme Court granted the applications and stayed those district-court orders pending further action by the Court. The Court treated the stay requests as statements that it should hear the cases and noted probable jurisdiction.
Reasoning
The central procedural question was whether to pause the effect of the district court’s orders while the Supreme Court considers the cases. The Court granted the stay, consolidated the cases for briefing and argument, and allotted one hour for oral argument. The Court set simultaneous filing deadlines and word limits for principal and reply briefs, requiring initial briefs by December 21, 2011, and reply briefs by January 3, 2012, and scheduled argument for January 9, 2012, at 1 p.m. Those who asked for a stay obtained temporary relief: the district-court orders are paused while the Supreme Court prepares to review the disputes.
Real world impact
The immediate effect is procedural: the lower-court orders are on hold while the Supreme Court decides whether to take the cases and then whether to rule on the merits. Parties affected by the Texas orders must follow the Court’s expedited briefing schedule and prepare for oral argument. This ruling is not a final decision on the underlying legal issues and could be changed by the Court’s later merits ruling.
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