From the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, this is We the People.

I'm Julie Silverbrook, Chief Content and Learning Officer.

The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress

to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.

In this episode, we explore a part of the Supreme Court's work that is drawn growing public attention.

Its emergency or shadow docket, sometimes referred to by the justices as the interim docket.

Most cases the court decides are on its merits docket, with full briefing, participation from Amici, friends of the court,

and oral argument before

the justices and the public. But the court also acts on emergency applications. These cases move

quickly, with shorter filings, limited outside input, and typically no oral argument. The resulting

orders are often brief, sometimes just a sentence or two. Decisions on the emergency docket can have

immediate and far-reaching effects, shaping how laws are implemented and how disputes are resolved

in real time. Understanding how and when the court acts is essential to understanding its role

in our constitutional system. To help us explore the court's use of the emergency docket and the

debates surrounding it,

we're joined by two leading constitutional scholars.

Jonathan Adler is a professor of law at William and Mary Law School.

He is the author of seven books, including Business and the Roberts Court.

He is a regular contributor to the popular legal blog, The Volic Conspiracy.

Jonathan, welcome back to We the People.

Good to be here.

And Stephen Vladic is a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. He's the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Shadow Docket, How the Supreme Court uses stealth rulings to amass power and undermine the Republic.

...