The Supreme Court has always had the authority to issue emergency rulings in exceptional circumstances. Since 2017 however, the Court has dramatically expanded its use of the behind-the-scenes “shadow docket,” regularly making decisions that affect millions of Americans without public hearings and without explanation, with cryptic late-night rulings that leave lawyers—and citizens—struggling to understand them.
The Court’s conservative majority has used the shadow docket to approve restrictive voting laws and bans on abortion, and to curtail immigration and COVID vaccine mandates. Stephen Vladek, the author of our core book and a law professor at the University of Texas School of Law, makes the case that we, the public, should be concerned about what the increasing use of the shadow docket portends for the rule of law.
The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses It to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic
