TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Senate Holds Hearing on Meaning, Use of ‘Shadow Docket’

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Oct 1, 2021

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Wednesday on the U.S. Supreme Court’s so-called “shadow docket,” a term that describes the process by which the court issues emergency orders and summary decisions. Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, said in his opening statement that the shadow docket is undermining claims that the court is insulated from politics, and is being used for "more political and controversial decisions with results that appear on their face to be ideologically driven." Republicans on the committee said attacks on the court’s practices were “part of a concerted effort to intimidate and bully” the justices. The members also disagreed over the term “shadow docket” itself, the ABA Journal reports. Republicans said the term connotes something dark and scary. A law school professor called to testify before the group said the term is appropriate given the “unpredictable timing,” “lack of transparency” and “usual inscrutability” involved in these decisions.

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