First published 2023
The Supreme Court has transformed how it wields power. Since 2017, the justices have increasingly relied on unsigned emergency orders issued without public hearings or detailed explanations. These cryptic rulings arrive late at night and immediately change the law for millions of Americans. The conservative majority has employed this shadow docket to approve restrictive voting requirements, permit abortion bans, limit immigration policies, and block COVID vaccine mandates. Legal scholar Stephen Vladeck argues that this shift threatens democratic governance regardless of political affiliation. He traces how emergency powers originally reserved for truly exceptional cases have become routine tools for major policy changes. Vladeck demonstrates why the lack of transparency and rushed timeline of shadow docket decisions undermines judicial legitimacy. The book provides readers with a clear understanding of how the Court now operates behind closed doors and why this matters for American democracy.
Genres: history, american, non-fiction, 21st-century, government, current-affairs, law, academic
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: America, United States
Period: 2017-Present
352 pages · Hardcover · Basic Books