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March 27, 2025

SCOTUS shadow docket receives 22 emergency applications in seven months

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Trump wins nine emergency appeals outright reshaping policy before full court hearings

By Mar. 27, 2025, President Trump’s administration filed 19 emergency petitions through the Supreme Court’s shadow docket in its first ten weeks (Reuters Shadow Docket Analysis).

The Supreme Court granted nine of those 19 emergency petitions (approximately 47%) by Mar. 27, 2025 (Supreme Court Emergency Docket Tracker).

Shadow docket orders proceed without oral arguments, receive only limited briefing, and are often issued as unsigned orders, preventing public access to the Court’s full reasoning (NYU Law Shadow Docket Study).

👨‍⚖️Judicial Review📜Constitutional Law

Test Your Knowledge

10
Q1

What term describes Supreme Court emergency orders issued without full briefing?

Q2

What nickname do critics use for emergency Supreme Court orders issued without full briefing or oral argument?

Q3

Lower courts must immediately implement all shadow docket orders.

Q4

Which Supreme Court justice has been most vocal about shadow docket concerns?

Q5

What is the traditional purpose of the Supreme Court's shadow docket?

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People, bills, and sources

Donald Trump (President of the United States)

filed 19 emergency petitions via the Supreme Court’s shadow docket within his administration’s first ten weeks (Reuters Shadow Docket Analysis).

Justice Elena Kagan

Justice Elena Kagan

issued public dissents calling for transparency and full briefing in shadow docket cases (Justice Kagan Shadow Docket Statements).

What you can do

1

Track ongoing shadow docket filings and dispositions using SCOTUSblog’s Emergency Docket Tracker at https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/03/emergency-docket-tracker-trump-administration/ to monitor grant rates and case details.

2

Consult the American Bar Association’s Mar. 2025 Shadow Docket Report at https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2025/march/shadow-docket-concerns/ for the original standards distinguishing genuine emergencies from routine policy appeals.

3

Review the Federal Judicial Center’s Bench Handbook section on Supreme Court order implementation at https://www.fjc.gov/education/bench-handbook/supreme-court-orders-implementation to understand lower-court obligations and deadlines following shadow docket orders.