Supreme Court's Shadow Docket Enables Trump To Do IRREPARABLE HARM To The American People - Glenn Kirschner

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Using the shadow docket with its complete absence of legal reasoning, the Supreme Court is doing untold damage to the American people and our institutions of government.

Or, perhaps more accurately, courtesy of the shadow docket, the Supreme Court is allowing Donald Trump and his administration to do untold damage to the American people and our institutions of government

In today's Justice Matters video I talk with constitutional scholar and constitutional law professor Kim Wehle about the shadow docket, the Supreme Court's erosion of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches, and seizures as relates to our Hispanic and Latino brothers and sisters, the dangers of the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling, and more. - Glenn Kirschner - 09/16/2025.


To subscribe To Kim Wehle on Substack: kimwehle.substack.com

[blue_jay]

1. Can all of the decisions made by this court and administration be reversed once we prove

that morons allowed this election result? Inquiriing minds want to know...

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Takeaways From the Supreme Court's Shadow Papers (NYT Gift Subscription)

Confidential memos written by the justices shed light on how they came to issue emergency orders in cases about the scope of presidential power.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket-takeaways.html?unlocked_article_code=1.cVA.etVO.2fmP_C-qX92j&smid=nytcore-android-share

The New York Times is publishing seven confidential memos that were exchanged among the justices of the Supreme Court over five days in the winter of 2016. They tell a pivotal story.

The memos show how the justices stumbled into a new way of conducting their work in major cases on presidential power, short-circuiting longstanding procedures meant to ensure careful consideration and reasoned opinions.

In the papers, the justices debate taking an unprecedented step: halting a major climate change initiative from President Barack Obama before any lower court had addressed its lawfulness. By a 5-to-4 vote along partisan lines, the court did just that, without explaining its reasoning.....

Chief Justice Roberts pushed his colleagues to short-circuit their usual procedures.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s public persona is mild and controlled. In the papers, he is impatient, seems testy with his colleagues and appears offended by what he considers defiance by the Environmental Protection Agency.

President Obama and Chief Justice Roberts had a tense relationship. The papers show how keenly the chief justice was tracking the Obama administration’s actions, determined not to be outplayed.

The memos are relatively formal and legalistic. But they are nothing like the court’s usual painstaking work. The justices address one another by their first names, refer to a blog post and a television interview, express irritation and plead for more time.....

The justices do not seem aware of the momentous step they are taking.
The Obama administration’s plan to curb emissions, which was challenged by Republican-led states and industry groups, was set for a slow rollout, culminating in full compliance by 2030. But Chief Justice Roberts said the court had to jump in immediately, as states and businesses would have to start committing time and resources to comply with the plan right away.

The memos debating that weighty question and several related ones spanned just five days. None of the justices mention the threat of climate change, or acknowledge that they are embarking on a questionable new way of operating.