Shadow docket

Internal memos from the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the shadow docket in 2016, via the New York Times

The shadow docket (also known as the interim docket, the emergency docket, or the non-merits docket) refers to motions and orders in the Supreme Court of the United States in cases which have not yet reached final judgment, decision on appeal, and oral argument. This term especially refers to stays and injunctions (preliminary relief), but also includes summary decisions and grant, vacate, remand (GVR) orders. The phrase shadow docket was first used in this context in 2015 by University of Chicago law professor William Baude.

The shadow docket is a break from ordinary procedure. Such cases receive very limited briefings and are typically decided a week or less after an application is filed. The process generally results in short, unsigned rulings. In contrast, merits cases take months, include extensive briefing and public oral argument, and result in lengthy written opinions detailing the reasoning of the majority and of any concurring and dissenting justices.

The shadow docket is used when the court believes an applicant will suffer "irreparable harm" if its request is not immediately granted. Historically, the shadow docket was rarely used for rulings of serious legal or political significance. However, beginning in February 2016, it has been increasingly used for consequential rulings, especially for requests by the Department of Justice for emergency stays of lower-court rulings. The practice has been criticized for various reasons, including for bias, lack of transparency, and lack of accountability.

The Roberts Court has made unprecedented use of the shadow docket to issue major rulings and sidestep ordinary procedures. The Roberts Court's decision in the procedural history of West Virginia v. EPA to use the shadow docket to halt the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan (which Roberts described in internal deliberations as causing substantial and irreversible harm to American industry) has been described as the case that gave birth to the court's use of the shadow docket. Since then, the Roberts Court used the shadow docket to halt the Biden administration's activities and to enable the second Trump administration to enact controversial policies. In 2026, the Roberts court issued more orders on the shadow docket (63) than the traditional merits docket (56).