Stephen I. Vladeck of the University of Texas School of Law has authored The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rules to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic, discussing the Court’s use of emergency rulings.
From the book’s description:
An acclaimed legal scholar exposes the Supreme Court’s increasing use of unsigned, unexplained orders to change the law—all behind closed doors
The Supreme Court has always had the authority to issue emergency rulings in exceptional circumstances. But since 2017, 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, through cryptic late-night rulings that leave lawyers—and citizens—scrambling.
The Court’s conservative majority has used the shadow docket to green-light restrictive voting laws and bans on abortion, and to curtail immigration and COVID vaccine mandates. But Americans of all political stripes should be worried about what the shadow docket portends for the rule of law, argues Supreme Court expert Stephen Vladeck. In this rigorous yet accessible book, he issues an urgent call to bring the Court back into the light.
Following the book’s release, Vladeck participated in a National Constitution Center’s America’s Town Hall event ‘The Shadow Docket Debate,’ where he discussed the book and current debates around emergency rulings. Jeffrey Rosen of the National Constitution Center moderated the discussion.