Shadow Docket Archives - Campbell Law Observer

Supreme Inaction: Words from the Bench and Implications of Texas’s S.B. 8

September 2, 2021

In the late hours on Wednesday, September 1, the Supreme Court of the United States denied an emergency request by abortion and women’s health providers for an injunction barring enforcement of Texas’s Senate Bill 8. S.B. 8 is a restrictive law that bans most abortions after as early as six weeks of pregnancy and allows private citizens to file civil lawsuits against abortion providers. The late-night decision arrived by way of the Supreme Court’s shadow docket (a topic that has been [...]

Shedding Light on the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket

April 2, 2021

The Supreme Court of the United States as an institution is often praised for its transparency and articulate reasoning that serves as a lodestar for judges, scholars, and law students. When opinions are handed down, they are closely studied for legal arguments that eventually make their way back to court in other cases. The standard operating procedure to have a case heard before the Court is a long and often slow process that prioritizes careful decision-making over speed. A lawyer will [...]