An instant New York Times bestseller: An acclaimed legal scholarâs âimportantâ (New York Times) and âfascinatingâ (Economist) exposĂ© of how the Supreme Court uses unsigned and unexplained orders to change the law 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 âshadow docket,â regularly making decisions that affect millions of Americans without public hearings and without explanation, through cryptic late-night rulings that leave lawyersâand citizensâscrambling. The Courtâs 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.
