## Facts

- A citizens’ group opposed full-power operation of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant and participated in NRC licensing proceedings, including attempts to reopen the record after a nearby earthquake raised seismic concerns.
- The NRC rejected the request to reopen the administrative record, and the group sought judicial review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
- While the Sixth Circuit case remained pending without a final judgment, the court first stayed full-power operation of the plant and later entered an interlocutory order lifting that stay.
- The group applied to the Circuit Justice for the Sixth Circuit for an order “staying the mandate” pending potential Supreme Court review, seeking to prevent full-power operation until the Sixth Circuit issued a final decision and, if necessary, until disposition of a certiorari petition.

## Issues

1. Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2101(f) authorizes a Circuit Justice to stay the effect of an interlocutory court of appeals order lifting a stay, where no final judgment exists.
2. If § 2101(f) is unavailable, whether comparable relief should issue as an original writ of injunction under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a).
3. What showing is required for a Circuit Justice to grant such extraordinary injunctive relief.

## Decision

- The application was denied.
- Section 2101(f) did not apply because it permits stays only of a “final judgment or decree,” and the only relevant order (lifting the stay) was interlocutory.
- The requested relief functioned as an original injunction under the All Writs Act, which requires a substantially more demanding justification than an ordinary stay pending certiorari.
- The applicant did not satisfy the stringent standard for an in-chambers injunction, which is reserved for the most critical and exigent circumstances.

## Legal Principles

- 28 U.S.C. § 2101(f) authorizes a stay only when a “final judgment or decree” is subject to Supreme Court review on certiorari; it does not provide authority to stay interlocutory appellate orders.
- When § 2101(f) is unavailable, a request to restrain conduct pending litigation may be treated as a request for an original writ of injunction under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a).
- An original injunction from a Circuit Justice is extraordinary relief, to be granted sparingly and only in critical and exigent circumstances, and requires a stronger showing than the standards applicable to stays of final judgments.

## Conclusion

Because the court of appeals order at issue was interlocutory, § 2101(f) did not authorize a stay, and the applicant failed to justify the more extraordinary remedy of an original injunction under the All Writs Act; full-power operation could proceed while appellate review continued.


Ohio Citizens for Responsible Energy, Inc. v. Nuclear Regul. Comm'n, 479 U.S. 1312 (1986)