Breaking: #SCOTUS Stays TX Abortion Order, Making Abortion Case Next Term Very Likely: It’s Still Justice Kennedy’s Court

Here is the order:

The application for stay presented to Justice Scalia and by him referred to the Court is granted, and the issuance of the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in case No. 14-50928 is stayed pending the timely filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari. Should the petition for a writ of certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the issuance of the judgment of this Court. The Chief Justice, Justice Scalia, Justice Thomas, and Justice Alito would deny the application.

It is Justice Kennedy’s Court after all.

It will take only 4 Justices to hear the case, but I can’t imagine anything but a cert. grant in this case (or the Mississippi case with this one held).  And a stay looks at a sneak peek on the merits, and that means that the challengers have a decent likelihood of succeeding.

[This post has been updated.]

Share this: