May 11–17, 2026 · October Term 2025 · merits opinions join the shadow docket
2Published dissents · Danco / GenBioPro emergency tracks · May 14 order
After Justice Alito’s sequence of administrative stays pushed the clock to Thursday evening, the Supreme Court issued an order continuing to block the Fifth Circuit’s prohibition on mailing mifepristone while manufacturers and Louisiana fight out standing and FDA alignment below — the same week the Court cleared Alabama’s congressional map for reconsideration after Louisiana v. Callais, denied Virginia Democrats’ emergency bid on a replacement map, and released unanimous merits opinions clarifying when federal courts may confirm arbitration awards and when freight brokers face state negligent-hiring suits.
Shadow docket · Nos. 25A1207 & 25A1208
SCOTUSblog reported that on Thursday, May 14, 2026, the Court distributed an order after 5 p.m. EDT that keeps the Fifth Circuit from enforcing in-person-only dispensing rules against mailed shipments while Louisiana’s challenge to FDA policy continues. The ruling extends a temporary regime Justice Alito had managed from the emergency docket across the prior weekend.
Sources: SCOTUSblog — Amy Howe, May 14, 2026 · Supreme Court slip PDF — No. 25A1207
Separate writings · published dissents
Justice Thomas argued manufacturers cannot show irreparable harm from an order that makes it harder to ship a drug for uses he characterized as criminally barred by the federal Comstock Act’s mail restrictions. Justice Alito called the Court’s order “remarkable” and tied it to post-Dobbs “shield law” dynamics in other states.
“What is at stake is the perpetration of a scheme to undermine our decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization …”
Source: SCOTUSblog — same article
Voting Rights Act · cert. before judgment · 25-243
The Supreme Court vacated three Alabama redistricting judgments and remanded for reconsideration in light of April’s merits ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which reworked how courts assess certain vote-dilution claims. SCOTUSblog explained the move clears the state to use a congressional plan lower courts had blocked as racially discriminatory while new briefing tests the Callais framework.
Noted dissent · three justices
Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, warned the order was poorly timed as Alabamians approached scheduled elections.
Sources: SCOTUSblog — May 11, 2026 · LII / Cornell — Allen v. Caster docket page
Federal Arbitration Act · unanimous merits
No. 25-83 · May 15, 2026
“[T]he question [here] is … whether there is anything in the FAA that precludes the normal operation of federal jurisdiction regarding live claims that are still pending before a federal court. There is not.”
The Court held that when a suit already rests in federal court on federal-question jurisdiction, later FAA motions to confirm or vacate an arbitral award do not require a freestanding jurisdictional analysis of the kind rejected in Badgerow v. Walters — a practical win for parties who arbitrate within an existing federal case.
Sources: SCOTUSblog — Ronald Mann, May 15, 2026 · Supreme Court slip PDF — No. 25-83
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act · 49 U.S.C. § 14501
In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, Justice Barrett wrote for a unanimous Court in the Court’s May 15, 2026 release that the FAAAA’s broad preemption of state laws “related to” prices, routes, or services does not swallow common-law negligent-hiring claims when they fall within the statute’s express safety exception for state authority “with respect to motor vehicles.” Justices Kavanaugh and Alito concurred separately to stress the case was closer than the majority’s tone suggested.
Sources: SCOTUSblog — Nora Collins, May 15, 2026 · Supreme Court slip PDF — No. 24-1238
Emergency application · redistricting
On Friday evening, May 15, 2026, the Court issued a brief unsigned order denying Virginia Democrats’ request to block a state supreme court ruling that invalidated a constitutional amendment underpinning a new congressional map. No justice noted a public dissent; SCOTUSblog noted Governor Spanberger had already signaled the disputed 2026 map would not be used, limiting practical disruption even as the denial left federal claims unresolved.
Sources: SCOTUSblog — Amy Howe, May 15, 2026 · Supreme Court PDF — unsigned order
DOJ · Criminal Division · unsealed May 12
The Justice Department announced charges against corporate defendants tied to the Singapore- and India-based managers of the M/V Dali and a technical superintendent, alleging conspiracy, environmental offenses tied to the March 2024 allision with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, and related false statements — with prosecutors citing billions of dollars in damage.
Sources: DOJ Office of Public Affairs — press release · The Washington Post — May 12, 2026
A published panel decision vacated and remanded the Army’s refusal to repatriate remains of two Winnebago children who died at the federal Carlisle Indian Industrial School in the nineteenth century, centering the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act’s intersection with military custody of sensitive cultural items.
Source: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit — published opinion PDF
The Seventh Circuit upheld extension of a Chicago-area consent decree addressing warrantless ICE arrests under 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2), pointing to systemic compliance lapses.
The same panel reversed limited release orders tied to certain field warrants, concluding the district judge exceeded authority on that narrow remedy — a mixed outcome plaintiffs’ groups nonetheless cast as preserving core decree protections.
Sources: Chicago Tribune — May 5, 2026 · ACLU of Illinois — press release
119th Congress · war powers
House vote on a resolution to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran — a tie fails the measure under House rules.
Senate vote rejecting a motion to discharge a related joint resolution from committee.
H.R. 8365
The House also passed the Monitor Accountability Act 219-214 according to GovTrack’s roll-call summary for the same mid-May stretch — a parallel data point on oversight legislation moving while national-security resolutions deadlocked.
SEC Division of Enforcement
The Commission announced settled fraud charges against Nevada fintech RYVYL, Inc. and two former executives over allegedly false claims that the company delivered proprietary blockchain payment technology when, regulators said, it largely resold conventional card and ACH processing. Commentary tracking the settlement highlighted five-year officer-and-director bars as part of the package.
Sources: SEC Litigation Release LR-26541 · Orrick Infobytes — May 8, 2026
Eighth Circuit · May 13, 2026
The court reversed money-laundering and fraud convictions, finding the district judge wrongly excluded defense evidence of witness-preparation notes that went to bias and credibility — a reminder that federal criminal trials still turn on granular Federal Rules of Evidence rulings long after charging headlines fade.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit — published opinion PDF
Forward calendar
Late May typically stacks opinion sessions with order lists; practitioners should calendar around the Court’s public postings while lower courts digest this week’s redistricting and FDA-side orders.
Calendar context: SCOTUSblog — front page calendar & live blog