Background
This appeal arises from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, where Judge Matthew F. Kennelly issued a preliminary injunction on June eight, two thousand twenty-six. The American Academy of Pediatrics, as plaintiff-appellee, sought review of the order after the Attorney General of the State of Florida filed an appeal.
The court’s reasoning
The court issued an order granting the appellant’s motion for en banc reconsideration. The order vacated the panel opinion issued on June twenty-two, two thousand twenty-six. The court further ordered that the district court’s preliminary injunction be stayed pending the resolution of the appeal and the issuance of the court’s mandate. The court noted that the appeal will be heard initially en banc pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure forty, G, and will set a new briefing schedule and date for oral argument by separate order.
The dissent
Today, we take the extraordinary step of deciding sua sponte to take an appeal away from the hands of the assigned panel and proceed initially en banc.
Lee
What it means going forward
The stay of the preliminary injunction preserves the status quo while the full Seventh Circuit reviews the case. The vacatur of the panel opinion means the legal analysis previously issued by the three-judge panel is no longer controlling, and the full court will issue a new decision.