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Civics 101

What Is "The Shadow Docket?"

Civics 101

NHPR

Education, History, Supreme Court, American History, Elections, Democracy, Society & Culture, Government, Civics, Politics, Social Studies

4.62.4K Ratings

🗓️ 4 July 2023

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today we learn about the Supreme Court decisions that we don't hear much about; the "shadow docket."

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

And the more shows we do, the more it feels that the wheels of government are powerful, but slow.

0:14.0

So if you want to get something done, the reason perhaps you decided to get involved in politics in the first place, it might be easier to just use a shortcut.

0:24.0

You don't want to write a bill, cut and paste from another one.

0:28.0

You don't want to go through the rigour moral of amendments in a house vote, do it under suspension of the rules.

0:36.0

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass HR 2663.

0:40.0

You want to pass a bill in the Senate without debate, without filibuster? Do it under unanimous consent.

0:46.0

I ask unanimous consent that Senate consider the following nomination. Calendar number is 534-34.

0:52.0

You're the president, and you just don't want to involve Congress at all? Just sign an executive order.

0:58.0

I'm an executive order, and I pretty much just happen.

1:02.0

But the one entity that was, to my knowledge, unable to use shortcuts was the one which determines how the Constitution applies to us.

1:12.0

America's final arbiter, the Supreme Court.

1:16.0

And let me guess, how wrong that you were.

1:20.0

How wrong was I?

1:22.0

Hi again everyone, it's Final Park in New York following the Supreme Court's refusal to block Texas' new law that all that bans abortion in the state.

1:32.0

There's been a barrage of criticism and harsh scrutiny over the Supreme Court's shadow-docket.

1:38.0

You're listening to Civics 101, I'm the Capitice. I'm Yanem McCarthy.

1:42.0

And today we're talking about the shadow-docket, Supreme Court decisions that we know very little about.

1:48.0

I'm Justice Amy Coney Barrett, gave a speech in April at the Ronald Reagan presidential library where she said, you know, you guys think we're all partisan hacks, but like, don't just read the media.

2:00.0

Read our opinions. Decide for yourselves.

2:04.0

It's also perfectly fair game to say that the court got it wrong. But I think if you're going to make the latter claim that the court got it wrong, you have to engage with the courts reasoning first.

2:14.0

You should read the opinion and see, well, does this read like something that was purely-

2:18.0

Twitch, my response is great. What if there's no opinion to read?

...

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