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Opinion of the Court
stayed pending resolution of a motion to terminate. Specifically, subsection (e)(2), entitled "Automatic Stay," states:
"Any motion to modify or terminate prospective relief made under subsection (b) shall operate as a stay during the period—
"(A)(i) beginning on the 30th day after such motion is filed, in the case of a motion made under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b); . . .
"(ii) . . . and "(B) ending on the date the court enters a final order ruling on the motion."
As one of several 1997 amendments to the PLRA, Congress permitted courts to postpone the entry of the automatic stay for not more than 60 days for "good cause," which cannot include general congestion of the court's docket. § 123, 111 Stat. 2470, codified at 18 U. S. C. § 3626(e)(3).*
C
On June 5, 1997, the State filed a motion under § 3626(b) to terminate the prospective relief governing the conditions of confinement at the Pendleton Correctional Facility. 1 Record, Doc. No. 16. In response, the prisoner class moved for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to enjoin the operation of the automatic stay, arguing that § 3626(e)(2) is unconstitutional as both a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and separation of powers principles. The District Court granted
*As originally enacted, § 3626(e)(2) provided that "[a]ny prospective relief subject to a pending motion [for termination] shall be automatically stayed during the period . . . beginning on the 30th day after such motion is filed . . . and ending on the date the court enters a final order ruling on the motion." § 802, 110 Stat. 1321-68 to 1321-69. The 1997 amendments to the PLRA revised the automatic stay provision to its current form, and Congress specified that the 1997 amendments "shall apply to pending cases." 18 U. S. C. § 3626 note (1994 ed., Supp. IV).
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