The Shadow Docket

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

By: Stephen Vladeck

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

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.

Critic reviews

“an expert study…. This insightful and accessible account raises an important alarm.”
—Publishers Weekly

“In The Shadow Docket, Steve Vladeck tells an urgent story about an arcane aspect of American law that has momentous implications for a host of pressing political issues—and for the institutional legitimacy of the Supreme Court itself. In elegant, accessible prose, Vladeck exposes the degree to which significant battles, from abortion to immigration, are being adjudicated behind closed doors, in unseen, unsigned, unexplained decisions. This is a powerful work of argument and explication, and a call for a return to transparency and accountability in the decision making of our highest court.”
—Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain

"The Supreme Court's polling numbers and legitimacy have taken a nosedive in recent years, but the cases it hands down are only part of the problem. The stuff that happens in the shadows is equally alarming, and nobody has been better at explaining these shadow matters than Steve Vladeck. Tackling intricate procedural questions, Vladeck makes absolutely plain that — to repurpose an old adage — procedure isn't just the handmaid of justice, it's now her lord and master. We ignore what happens in the shadows at our peril."—Dahlia Lithwick, author of Lady Justice

“Stephen Vladeck shines a harsh light on a little-understood SCOTUS sleight of hand — the shadow docket. Vladeck describes in clear and convincing language how the highest court in the land has increasingly used obscure procedural orders to shift the legal landscape to the right, at the expense of transparency, precedent, and fundamental rights. It is vital reading.”—Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York

"Steve Vladeck uses his intimate knowledge of the Supreme Court to show how the conservative justices are manipulating the court's docket to maximize their power and achieve their desired outcomes. The Shadow Docket is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how today's court really works."—Linda Greenhouse, author of Justice On the Brink

“The best thing you can say about a Supreme Court book is that you learned something, and I learned a ton. Vladeck cogently describes the perhaps well-meant but insidious way that the Supreme Court, in liberal as well as conservative times, slowly eroded the legal levers that prevented the Court from engineering its own agenda.”—Nina Totenberg, award-winning legal affairs correspondent, NPR

Very good!

A very up to date view of the US Supreme Court. Technical, but easy to follow.

Stephen Vladeck on the Supreme Court's misuse of the "shadow docket"

This is an excellent and important book, but a very difficult listen. Prof. Vladeck is obliged to describe a large number of legal cases in detail, including their often labyrinthine outcomes. This can be nearly impossible to follow in an audiobook and even in a print version, as I have discovered since I subscribed to the free version of his regular newsletter. All the same it is worth putting in the effort; and the historical background Vladeck provides is essential to an understanding of today's Court, and why its use of the Shadow Docket is damaging our democracy, as well as the Court's legitimacy. Highly recommended.

An important book for a divided time

Professor Vladeck shines an critical light on the Shadow Docket. For those of us who care about the future of our judiciary and democracy it is a must read/listen.

Interesting

This book was well researched and presented in a straightforward and easy to follow manner.

Inconsistent, unsigned, and unexplained…

(As posted in Goodreads)
Aghghghghagh! This is a very difficult book to read/listen to; it's quite intense and extremely thought-provoking. And for those of us who have extreme feelings about the situation, it's very difficult to separate them from just reporting on what is said.
The writing points out the use of a particular format for Supreme Court to decide cases, called the Shadow Docket, reaching the end presents inconsistent, unsigned, and unexplained decisions. The book also indicates many incongruenciies in judicial law and practice! I couldn't listen straight through; I had to stop regularly to process and get it all out in my mind temporarily.
My feelings on the situation are strong and biased, so I think it's somewhat unfair to go into depth about that. I am neither a lawyer nor a politician, so my thoughts are probably inconsequential. Anyway. But I feel the book is very important pointing out aspects of our current judicial agencies and their processes. I got a lot from the book.