Completed: 7/4/2023
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: My wife
Review:
I was aware of what the shadow docket was and mostly noticed it in terms of things not getting certiorare. I did not really understand how emergency stays worked except within the broad concept of midnight refusals to stop the death penalty. This book is extremely informative about how much of the overall work the Supreme Court does is on the shadow docket (more than half). I was also stunned that the court is saying that these actions can be precedent setting even without any explanation for the ruling. This is remarkably shocking. I wonder if the Court is uncomfortable with the increased load, but doesn't want to say anything out of fear that this will lead to expansion of the court. I think that the first step would be to remove the ability of the Supreme Court to make any ruling (even granting cert) without an explanation. Thereafter, the work load would surely justify expanding the court and perhaps revisiting the practice of hearings before a smaller number of justices instead of everything being en banc.
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