Stephen Vladeck, "The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic" (Basic Books, 2023)
Many people are familiar with the United States Supreme Court\u2019s merit docket. Each case follows detailed and professional proceedings that include formal written and oral arguments. The justices\u2019 decisions provide lengthy arguments and citations. They are freely available to the public, press, policy-makers, law makers, judges, and scholars. When the Supreme Court overturned\xa0Roe v. Wade\xa0in 2022, they ruled publicly \u2013 and the press covered it extensively.\xa0\nBut Professor Stephen Vladeck\u2019s new book,\xa0The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic\xa0(Basic Books, 2023), highlights that 99% of the Court\u2019s decisions are \u201cunseen, unsigned, and almost always unexplained\u201d on the \u201cshadow docket.\u201d State and federal policies \u2013 and constitutional rights \u2013 are affected by decisions that the Supreme Court makes behind closed doors. There are no opinions, no citations, and often observers have little idea which justices supported the action. The term \u2018shadow docket\u2019 was coined by law professor William Baude in 2015 \u2013 and Professor Vladeck sees a recent, radical, and concerning shift in how the shadow docket has been deployed in recent years. His remarkable book traces the shadow docket\u2019s longer history to explain what is the shadow docket, where did it come from, and how the Court has radically departed from past practice to decide more and more cases out of the public eye. Professor Vladeck argues that the shadow docket has become a norm rather than an exception \u2013 and that procedural change impacts constitutional rights and public policy on a large scale including asylum eligibility, abortion, marriage equality, voting rights, and building a border wall. Professor Vladeck insists that, regardless of your individual political leanings, the Court\u2019s increasing manipulation of the shadow docket threatens our shared constitutional system, and should alarm any American who believes in the value of the Supreme Court as an independent and legitimate institution.\nProfessor Vladeck\u2019s impressively researched (and remarkably accessible) book employs historical analysis and case studies in clear and precise prose. This is a book for scholars, students, \u2013 and\xa0anyone\xa0interested in policy and politics. The podcast ends with Professor Vladeck\u2019s suggestions for how we can all change how we\xa0talk\xa0about the Court and how Congress can make the Court more accountable.\nProfessor Stephen Vladeck\xa0holds the Charles Alan Wright Chair at the University of Texas School of Law. In addition to his extensive legal scholarship, Vladeck, has argued three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, co-hosts the National Security Law Podcast, and is editor and author of \u201cOne First,\u201d a popular weekly Substack newsletter about the Supreme Court.\nJohn Sebastiani served as the editorial assistant for this podcast.\n\ufeffSusan Liebell\xa0is Dirk Warren '50 Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph\u2019s University in Philadelphia.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law