The Shadow Docket

From firing high profile government employees to making fundamental decisions on who can officially call themselves an American citizen, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Trump administration – its most frequent litigant lately – are turning to the court’s emergency docket to unkink the federal government’s policy hose. 

But unlike the court’s regular docket, the justices can use the emergency docket without having to explain themselves or even reveal how they voted, earning its nickname as “the shadow docket.”

With a plethora of litigation critical to the administration’s effort to reshape the federal government, Courthouse News’ Supreme Court reporter Kelsey Reichmann takes us through the maze of major issues that could be decided without any hints as to how the court came to its conclusions. 

With so much litigation rising from federal court in Washington, D.C. or directly running afoul of laws passed by Congress, Courthouse News D.C. reporters Ben Weiss and Ryan Knappenberger also contributed to this episode. 

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.