Latest Rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court (as of October 18, 2025)The Supreme Court's October Term 2025 began on October 6, 2025, and as is typical early in the term, no full merits opinions have been issued yet. The most recent decisions are "shadow docket" orders—emergency applications for stays, injunctions, or other interim relief—handled without full briefing or oral arguments.
Below is a summary of the five most recent such orders, based on the Court's emergency docket.
October 17, 2025
We the Patriots USA v. Ventura Unified School District - 25A322
Application (25A322) for injunctive relief denied.
October 15, 2025
Crawford v. Mississippi - 25A378
Application (25A378) for stay of execution denied; Justice Sotomayor dissented, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson.
October 14, 2025
Jones v. Lafferty - 25A411
Application (25A411) to stay collection denied by Justice Sotomayor.
October 14, 2025
Smithers v. Florida
25A406
Application (25A406) for stay of execution denied.
October 14, 2025
Shockley v. Adams - 25A418
Application (25A418) for stay of execution denied.
Additionally, on October 7, 2025, the Court issued a major order list denying certiorari in hundreds of cases from its September 29 "long conference," effectively declining to hear those appeals. For context on the prior term's end, the most recent full merits opinions were issued on June 27, 2025 (from October Term 2024).
Here are the top five:
Holding Summary
June 27, 2025
Trump v. CASA - 24A884
The Court partially stayed nationwide injunctions against a Trump executive order ending birthright citizenship, limiting relief to plaintiffs with standing, as broader injunctions likely exceed courts' equitable authority.
June 27, 2025
Mahmoud v. Taylor - 24-297
Parents challenging a school board's "LGBTQ+-inclusive" curriculum and lack of opt-outs are entitled to a preliminary injunction.
June 26, 2025
Riley v. Bondi - 23-1270
A Board of Immigration Appeals denial of deferral of removal in a "withholding only" proceeding is not a final removal order under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1), and the 30-day filing deadline is a non-jurisdictional claims-processing rule.
June 26, 2025
Gutierrez v. Saenz - 23-7809
Death-row inmate Ruben Gutierrez has standing to challenge Texas's postconviction DNA testing procedures under the Due Process Clause.
June 26, 2025
Hewitt v. U.S. - 23-1002
Under § 403(b) of the First Step Act, more lenient penalties apply to defendants whose prior sentences were vacated and resentenced after the Act's enactment; the case was remanded.
The Court has granted review in about 40 cases for the 2025 term so far, with arguments beginning soon on topics like voting rights, agency power, and tariffs. For official texts, visit supremecourt.gov.