SCOTUS Watch: Order List

Monday's Order List (no more oral arguments until December) had a few interesting tidbits.

In the most common types of habeas corpus proceedings in the United States federal courts, a certificate of appealability is a legal document that must be issued before a petitioner may appeal from a denial of the writ. The certificate may only be issued when the petitioner has made a "substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right".

There were the usual housekeeping orders, which made some go "hmm." For instance, only those with knowledge of some inside baseball know what a "certificate of appealability" entails. Where is that Orders FAQ page?

The justices granted one case involving asylum seekers. The SCOTUSblog summary references "aliens," though the lower court opinion uses the more and more standard "noncitizens." 

I would have granted certiorari to terminate the longstanding and unlawful prison-building order at the center of this case. In 2019, the District Court ordered New Orleans to construct a new facility for inmates with mental health needs. 

Alito (with Thomas) had a short dissent from denial regarding a case; the federal government had to be pushed to provide a response to the challenge. Gorsuch would have granted, though he did not join the dissent. It turns on procedural matters.

The facts harken back (going by the briefing) to at least 2013. The new facility was only two-thirds complete as of July 2025. The case is out of the Fifth Circuit, and the usual conservative suspects (including Judge Ho) dissented below.  

The Trump Administration, however, did not deem it certworthy. A tad bit telling as compared to Justice Alito arguing it is compelled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (limiting lawsuits) and so on.

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More about that case involving a major human rights judgment against Ferdinand Marcos, where Sotomayor on Friday rejected a stay request. 

Steven Vladeck, in his Substack today, also suggested the request for a stay could have at least partially been raised to put the government on the record (see Sotomayor's final order).  

Upcoming

There is a non-argument session scheduled on Friday. These are usually used to swear people to the Supreme Court Bar. Vladeck notes there is a small chance it will be used to dispose of an easy case.

An execution is also scheduled on Thursday. 

Some miscellaneous orders might drop. The next scheduled Order Day is next Monday. That closes the official events scheduled for November.