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First Circuit cases at the Supreme Court, organized by procedural posture with links to official sources.
OT 20252 decided (1 affirmed)
How to read this page
- Regular docket includes cert granted, argued (or to be argued), decided, and GVR/remand items.
- Interim docket collects time-sensitive interim matters linked to First Circuit litigation.
- Pending Petitions of Note lists selected petitions that may merit attention before cert is granted.
Showing 6 cases.
Regular docket (2)
Decided
The Supreme Court affirms definition of birthright citizenship as "guarantee[ing] citizenship to all children born in the United States and subject to its power."
Questions presented
- Whether the Executive Order complies on its face with the Citizenship Clause and with 8 U.S.C. 1401(a), which codifies that Clause.
Opinion
Supreme Court opinion
First Circuit
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Petition
Sep 26, 2025
Cert granted
Dec 5, 2025
Argument
Apr 1, 2026
Decision
Jun 30, 2026
Decided
A case examining the standard of review of a federal court of appeals when considering a persecution determination by the Board of Immigration Appeals. The Court unanimously affirmed, stating that "[t]he statute requires application of the substantial-evidence standard to the agency’s conclusion that a given set of undisputed facts does not constitute persecution."
Questions presented
- Whether a federal court of appeals must defer to the BIA’s judgment that a given set of undisputed facts does not demonstrate mistreatment severe enough to constitute “persecution” under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42).
Opinion
Supreme Court opinion
First Circuit
Nov 14, 2024
Petition
Jan 17, 2025
Cert granted
Jun 30, 2025
Argument
Dec 1, 2025
Decision
Mar 4, 2026
Interim docket (3)
Interim docket
Relief sought: Request for stay of district court orders requiring funding of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, withdrawn on November 13.
First Circuit: Nov 9, 2025
Interim docket
Whether to stay the district court's injunction against a policy requiring new passports to display a bearer's biological sex at birth.
Relief sought: Stay of Preliminary Injunction During Appeal
First Circuit: Sep 4, 2025 · Interim order: Nov 6, 2025
Why it matters: The Court granted the stay, making reference to "foreign affairs implications concerning a Government document" and that the passports would "attest[] to a historical fact." Justice Jackson, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, dissented.
Documents
Relief sought: Request for a stay of district court opinion enjoining the National Institutes of Health from terminating grants.
Interim order: Aug 21, 2025
Pending Petitions of Note (1)
Petition pending
Questions presented
- Whether President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14,160, 90 Fed. Reg. 8449 (Jan. 29, 2025), which identifies circumstances in which a person born in the United States is not “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” and so is not recognized as a citizen of the United States, complies on its face with the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause and 8 U.S.C. 1401(a).
First Circuit
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Petition
Jan 30, 2026
Cert granted
awaiting
Argument
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Decision
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