The Supreme Court Is Moving More Cases into the Shadows
For the first time, the Court decided more substantive cases on its shadow docket than on its traditional merits docket.
Supreme Court Shadow Docket
Historically, the Supreme Court only used the shadow docket (as opposed to the merits docket) for procedural issues or emergency requests to block irreparable harms, such as a pending execution. But recently, the Court has been using it at an unprecedented rate to decide cases with major policy implications — often without providing the reasoning behind the decision. See our explainer and tracker for more information.
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The Supreme Court Shadow Docket Comes into the Light
Leaked memos show that the Supreme Court’s emergency docket is rife with double standards.
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Supreme Court Abuse of the Shadow Docket Under Trump
The Court has sided with the administration 80 percent of the time when making “emergency” rulings, often without revealing its reasoning.
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Supreme Court Shadow Docket Tracker — Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
The Court is ruling on challenges to government actions on its emergency docket, often without explaining its decisions or providing guidance to lower courts.
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The Supreme Court “Shadow Docket” Explained
The conservative justices are increasingly using a secretive process to issue consequential decisions.
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