What is the main message of The Shadow Docket?

The main message of The Shadow Docket is an exploration of secret Supreme Court decisions.

Who is the author of The Shadow Docket?

The author of The Shadow Docket is Stephen Vladeck.

Politics

The Shadow Docket Book Summary - The Shadow Docket Book explained in key points

Listen to the Intro

00:00

The Shadow Docket summary

Name: The Shadow Docket
Rating: 4.5 (14 reviews)
Author: Stephen Vladeck

Stephen Vladeck

How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic

4.5 (14 ratings)

15 mins

Brief summary

The Shadow Docket by Stephen Vladeck sheds light on the secretive side of the U.S. Supreme Court, exploring its use of emergency orders and their impact on the justice system and the rule of law.

Topics

US Politics Political Philosophy Democracy

Table of Contents

The Shadow Docket
Summary of 4 key ideas

Audio & text in the Blinkist app

Key idea 1 of 4

What’s in it for me? Discover how the Supreme Court uses procedural rulings to expand its authority and reshape the law.

Each June, the eyes of the legal community turn to the Supreme Court. As the Court winds down before its summer recess, its decisions in the most high-profile and hotly debated cases are revealed. Journalists rush to get their hands on the opinions, and interested parties comb through the pages to learn how the law of the land has been reshaped.

But there’s another set of Supreme Court rulings that trickles out as well – decisions that garner far less attention but are every bit as influential. These rulings come from the so-called shadow docket. And Stephen Vladeck argues that they’re causing grave harm to the American legal system and to the legitimacy of the Supreme Court as an institution.

In this Blink, we’ll explore how shadow docket decisions differ from the merits docket handed in by the Court every June. We’ll highlight a few shadow docket cases that have had profound impacts on American law and society, and explain why the Supreme Court’s use and abuse of the shadow docket is so troubling.

The shadow docket is the agenda for the Court’s many procedural decisions

So, what is the shadow docket, exactly? There are a few types of decisions that fall under this category. One occurs when the Supreme Court agrees to take a case, hear arguments, and issue a formal ruling. This is what’s known as granting certiorari.

Issuing injunctions is another part of the shadow docket. This is when the Supreme Court orders a party, such as a plaintiff or a lower court, to start or stop what they’re doing. In practice, this can mean striking down a law while litigation is ongoing, or compelling lower courts to keep the law in place. While these choices may appear mundane and inconsequential on the surface, they can make a major difference in the law.

These shadow docket rulings constitute a whopping 99 percent of the Supreme Court’s decisions. But sheer volume isn’t the main issue. It’s that these rulings are delivered anonymously and without explanation. All the Court has to provide is a one-sentence declaration, and their dictums carry weight.

Another issue is the nature of these rulings. Since the Supreme Court first convened in 1790, there have, of course, been many procedural rulings. But the kinds of rulings made today are different.

Since the mid-2010s, Vladeck argues, the shadow docket has been used to change the law in major ways. From elections to immigration to capital punishment, shadow docket decisions have shifted several aspects of the law to the political right. And while it’s one thing for the Court to rule “on the merits” one way or the other, using these procedural decisions to transform American law is an abuse of the Court’s authority.

In the next section, we’ll look at practical examples of how Vladeck believes the shadow docket has been abused for partisan gain.

The Trump administration’s impact on the shadow docket

When the Supreme Court grants emergency relief, it’s supposed to be for emergencies – extenuating circumstances that would cause irreparable harm if relief weren’t granted. For most of the Supreme Court's history, administrations of both parties have asked for emergency relief sparingly. During the 16 years of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies, there were only eight such requests – four of which the Court granted, and four that were denied.

But this changed with the Trump administration. In just four years, the solicitor general, who represents the federal government in court, issued 41 requests for emergency relief. And of the 36 that received a formal response from the Supreme Court, 28 were approved. This emergency relief usually came in the form of blocking lower court rulings that disfavored the Trump administration. As a result, a number of policies that lower courts ruled unlawful were allowed to go into effect.

How the shadow docket helps influence elections to favor Republicans

To understand how the shadow docket is used to help sway elections, it’s important to first consider two Supreme Court cases. The first is the 2006 case of Purcell v. Gonzalez, which regarded Prop 200 – an Arizona ballot initiative that established stricter voter ID requirements for in-person voting. The law was challenged in court on the grounds that it had a disparate impact on minority voters, thus violating both the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.

Despite lower courts blocking Prop 200 from going into effect for the 2006 election, the Supreme Court ruled that it could. What’s more, the Court established what’s called the Purcell Principle. This new legal doctrine states that courts should generally not intervene in election disputes or change their rules in the lead-up to election day, because doing so might confuse voters or election administrators.

How the shadow docket undermines the Supreme Court’s legitimacy

People’s faith in the authority of the Supreme Court is dwindling. And while some of this is due to a series of high-profile merits cases in recent terms, Vladeck thinks the shadow docket is making things even worse.

It isn’t simply the fact that these shadowy rulings are often unsigned, or that they’re coming in far greater frequency. It isn’t just that they come with no explanation – or that the rulings are often contradictory, with the only common thread being that they tend to favor a specific set of political priorities. It’s the combination of all of these factors that make the shadow docket so dangerous.

Want to see all full key ideas from The Shadow Docket?

Key ideas in The Shadow Docket

More knowledge in less time

Read or listen

Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.

Find your next read

Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.

Shortcasts ^New

We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

What is The Shadow Docket about?

The Shadow Docket (2022) explores the Supreme Court’s growing abuse of its shadow docket – the procedural rulings it issues, often anonymously and without explanation. Since the mid-2010s, the conservative wing of the Court has increasingly relied on this opaque tactic to empower Republican administrations, influence elections, and transform the law in ways that threaten their own legitimacy.

The Shadow Docket Review

The Shadow Docket (2022) by Stephen Vladeck sheds light on the secretive legal system that operates within the United States Supreme Court. Here are three reasons why this book is a must-read:

With meticulous research and in-depth analysis, Vladeck reveals the inner workings of the shadow docket, uncovering its implications for American democracy.
By delving into real-life cases and their consequences, the author offers a fascinating exploration of the often unseen power wielded by the Supreme Court.
Vladeck's clear and accessible writing style makes the book both informative and engaging, allowing readers to grasp complex legal concepts without feeling overwhelmed.

Who should read The Shadow Docket?

Citizens affected by the Supreme Court’s decisions
Students curious about the court system
Anyone interested in the rule of law

About the Author

Stephen Vladeck is the Chair of Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law. He has argued more than a dozen cases before the Supreme Court, and his work has appeared in legal journals such as the Harvard Law Review and the Yale Law Journal. He is currently a Supreme Court analyst for CNN.

Categories with The Shadow Docket

Politics Society & Culture

Book summaries like The Shadow Docket

The 48 Laws of Power

Robert Greene

The secret methods to getting what you want

Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World

AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World

26 min

4.2

This Is Your Brain on Food

Uma Naidoo

A Guide to the Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, and More

Dig Deep into Democracy and Dictatorship

5 min

3.7

Trauma Stewardship

Laura van Dernoot Lipsky

An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others

23 min

The Better Angels of Our Nature

Steven Pinker

Why Violence Has Declined

An examination of the amoral game and techniques of seducers

19 min

4.0

Communication Miracles for Couples

Jonathan Robinson

Easy and Effective Tools to Create More Love and Less Conflict

21 min

4.2

Common Sense on Mutual Funds

John C. Bogle

New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor

A Memoir Of The Cuban Missile Crisis

(Article) Why can't the world's greatest minds solve the mystery of consciousness?

Oliver Burkeman

Original article published in The Guardian

5 min

3.6

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Friedrich Nietzsche

The Classic That Will Challenge Everything You Know

China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order

20 min

4.3

Walk the Blue Line

James Patterson and Matt Eversmann

They walk the line between life and death

How Tenants Can End the Housing Crisis

The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen

An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso

Inside the Trump White House

A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment

19 min

4.4

Discipline Is Destiny

Ryan Holiday

The Power of Self-Control

18 min

4.7

The Most Important Thing

Howard Marks

Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor

17 min

4.2

No More Mr. Nice Guy!

Robert A. Glover

A Proven Plan for Getting what You Want in Love, Sex, and Life

19 min

4.2

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

John Gray

A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in Your Relationships

20 min

4.5

Crucial Conversations

Kerry Patterson

Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High

Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX

21 min

4.5

How to Think Like Socrates

Donald J. Robertson

Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World

5 Mindsets to Engage, Retain, and Inspire Your Team

18 min

4.4

I Never Thought of It That Way

Mónica Guzmán

How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times

The New Workday Standard of Creating More by Working Less

8 min

3.8

The War on Normal People

Andrew Yang

The Truth About America's Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future

24 min

4.5

Children of Ash and Elm

Neil Price

A History of the Vikings

How to Start Conversations that Get Results

The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

19 min

3.9

When McKinsey Comes to Town

Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe

The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm

Rethinking Infidelity

Falsehoods and Free Speech in an Age of Deception

17 min

4.0

How Soccer Explains the World

Franklin Foer

An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

An American Fight Against Fascism

How Disney University Develops the World's Most Engaged, Loyal, and Customer-Centric Employees

A must-read classic of modern science

21 min

4.5

The Power of Visual Storytelling

Ekaterina Walter and Jessica Gioglio

How to Use Visuals, Videos and Social Media to Market Your Brand

The Dictators Who Want to Run the World

What Killed Capitalism

17 min

4.4

The Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics

Arthur Schopenhauer

A rigorous investigation of moral philosophy’s deepest questions

16 min

4.5

Emotional Intelligence

The Right Side of History

Ben Shapiro

How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great

China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West

15 min

3.4

People ❤️ Blinkist

Sven O.

It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

Thi Viet Quynh N.

Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

Jonathan A.

Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

Renee D.

Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.