Supreme Court Order List, October 13, 2026: Court Grants Review in U.S. DOGE Service, Blanche v. Ozurumba and Berry, and Sends Four Cases Back to Lower Courts

Certiorari granted

• No. 25-1103, U.S. DOGE Service, et al. v. United States District Court for the District of Columbia, et al. The petition is granted (Order List, Oct. 13, 2026, p. 3). The docket lists the lower court as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, case No. 25-5130, decided July 14, 2025, rehearing denied December 18, 2025; the case was docketed March 20, 2026 (Supreme Court docket No. 25-1103).
• No. 25-1343, Blanche, Attorney General v. Ozurumba. The petition is granted (Order List, Oct. 13, 2026, p. 3). The lower court is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, case No. 24-2070, decided September 2, 2025, rehearing denied December 30, 2025; docketed June 2, 2026 (Supreme Court docket No. 25-1343).
• No. 25-7026, Berry v. United States. The motion to proceed in forma pauperis and the petition are granted (Order List, Oct. 13, 2026, p. 3). The lower court is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, case No. 25-12042, decided February 18, 2026 (Supreme Court docket No. 25-7026).

A grant means the Court will hear the case. It is not a ruling on the merits.

Granted, vacated and remanded

The Court granted these petitions, vacated the judgments below and sent each case back "for further consideration" in light of a decision from the October 2025 Term (Order List, Oct. 13, 2026, pp. 1-2):

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• No. 25-1367, Roofing Designs by JR, L.L.C. v. Royal American Construction, Inc. Back to the Fifth Circuit in light of Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc., 608 U.S. 647 (2026).
• No. 25-7569, Silva Ochoa v. United States. Back to the Eleventh Circuit in light of Hunter v. United States, 608 U.S. 713 (2026).
• No. 26-139, Monsanto Co. v. Dennis. Back to the Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, in light of Monsanto v. Durnell, 609 U.S. 371 (2026).
• No. 26-5216, Hobson v. United States. Back to the Fifth Circuit in light of Hunter v. United States, 608 U.S. 713 (2026).

Orders in pending cases

• No. 26A36, Gordon v. Newsom. The application for a stay, addressed to the Chief Justice and referred to the Court, is denied (Order List, Oct. 13, 2026, p. 2).
• No. 26A167, Gordon v. Gutierrez. The application to recall and stay the mandate is denied (same page).
• Nos. 25-159 (Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission) and 25-417 (Nielsen v. Watanabe). The Solicitor General's motions to take part in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument are granted (p. 2). Both cases are set for argument on November 9, 2026 (Argument Calendar, November 2026 session).
• No. 25-1003, Guerrero v. Johnson. The Solicitor General's motion to take part in argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument is granted (p. 3). Argument is set for November 4, 2026 (November 2026 calendar).
• No. 25-5930, Maxwell v. Dinis. The Solicitor General's motion for divided argument is granted (p. 3). Argument is set for November 2, 2026 (November 2026 calendar).

The list continues with denials of certiorari, beginning with No. 25-590, Aldridge v. Regions Bank (p. 3).

What these terms mean

• Certiorari (writ of certiorari) (say it: ser-shee-uh-RAIR-ee). Means: An order from the Supreme Court telling a lower court to send up the records of a case the Justices have agreed to hear. Origin and history: The Certiorari Act of 1925 gave the Supreme Court the choice of whether to hear most appeals. Today it agrees to hear about 100 to 150 of the more than 7,000 cases it is asked to review each year. Source: Meaning: uscourts.gov Glossary of Legal Terms, "Writ of certiorari." History: uscourts.gov, "About the Supreme Court" (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts).
• Cert granted (say it: SURT GRAN-tid). Means: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. It is not a ruling on who wins. Origin and history: "Cert" is short for certiorari. When a party asks the Court to review its case, it files a petition for a writ of certiorari. Source: uscourts.gov, "About the Supreme Court"; Supreme Court Order List, Oct. 13, 2026 ("The petitions for writs of certiorari are granted").
• GVR (grant, vacate and remand) (say it: jee-vee-AR). Means: In a single order, the Court takes the case, cancels the lower court's judgment and sends the case back so the lower court can decide it again in light of a newer Supreme Court decision. Origin and history: Lawyers use the shorthand in their filings. The Roofing Designs petition asked for "a GVR," and the opposing brief argued against a "grant-vacate-remand." Source: Petition, No. 25-1367 (June 4, 2026); Brief in Opposition, No. 25-1367 (Sept. 8, 2026); Supreme Court Order List, Oct. 13, 2026.
• Vacated and remanded (say it: VAY-kay-tid and ree-MAN-did). Means: "Vacated" means the lower court's judgment is canceled and no longer in force. "Remanded" means the case goes back to the lower court for further proceedings. Origin and history: A remand is the act of an appellate court sending a case back to a lower court for further proceedings. Source: uscourts.gov Glossary, "Remand"; Supreme Court Order List, Oct. 13, 2026 ("The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded").
• In forma pauperis (say it: in FOR-muh PAW-per-iss). Means: Permission to file a case without paying the court's fees, because the person cannot afford them. Origin and history: Latin for "in the manner of a pauper." Source: uscourts.gov Glossary of Legal Terms, "In forma pauperis."
• Amicus curiae (say it: uh-MEE-kus KYOOR-ee-eye). Means: A brief filed by a person or group that is not a party to the case but has an interest in it, offering its own arguments. Origin and history: Latin for "friend of the court." Source: uscourts.gov Glossary, "Amicus curiae"; uscourts.gov, "Supreme Court Procedures."
• Stay and administrative stay (say it: STAY; ad-MIN-ih-stray-tiv STAY). Means: A stay pauses a lower court's order. An administrative stay is a short, temporary pause that a Justice can grant while waiting for the other side's response. Origin and history: The Court's guide says stay applications "usually concern an effort to buy time, to maintain the status quo." Source: Supreme Court of the United States, "A Reporter's Guide to Applications Pending Before the Supreme Court."
• Application and Circuit Justice (say it: ap-lih-KAY-shun; SUR-kit JUS-tis). Means: An application is a request for emergency or procedural relief, such as a stay. It goes to the Justice assigned to the federal circuit the case came from, called the Circuit Justice. Origin and history: The country is divided into 13 federal judicial circuits. The Circuit Justice can act alone or refer the application to the full Court. Source: Supreme Court of the United States, "A Reporter's Guide to Applications."
• Docket (say it: DOK-it). Means: The court's running log of a case, with a short dated entry for every filing and order. Origin and history: Each Supreme Court case gets a docket number, such as No. 25-1103. Source: uscourts.gov Glossary of Legal Terms, "Docket."

Each term card has a short audio clip of the term spoken by Ryan Standley. The clip players appear when the term-card display goes live.

Read next

• Supreme Court order list, October 13, 2026: three cases granted
• Chief Justice stays Fourth Circuit judgment in FCC v. Brown
• Arguments this week: Beaird and Salazar; the November calendar
• Court denies stay applications from Jamaal Howard
• October 5, 2026: Suncor Energy v. Boulder County opens the term

Every case, explained

• U.S. DOGE Service v. U.S. District Court for D.C.
• Blanche v. Ozurumba
• Berry v. United States
• FCC v. Brown
• Beaird v. United States
• Salazar v. Paramount Global
• Howard v. Texas / In re Howard
• Roofing Designs v. Royal American
• Silva Ochoa v. United States
• Monsanto v. Dennis
• Hobson v. United States

Sources

• Supreme Court of the United States, Order List (610 U.S.), Tuesday, October 13, 2026 (supremecourt.gov, Orders of the Court, file 101326zor).
• Supreme Court of the United States, dockets Nos. 25-1103, 25-1343 and 25-7026 (supremecourt.gov docket search), read October 13, 2026.
• Supreme Court of the United States, Argument Calendar, Session Beginning November 2, 2026 (dated August 11, 2026).

Notes and sources

1. Image: The west front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. (file photo). Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress (public domain).
2. Author: Ryan Standley / Record of Sale, LLC / Notice Nearby.
3. Discussed on @NoticeNearYou: (pending — fill xPostUrl after live post).
4. Not legal advice. Not a newspaper. Not Legal Publication. Record of Sale, LLC (Oregon).