Shadow docket

The shadow docket is a popular label, coined by law professor Stephen Vladeck, for the Supreme Court's orders made outside its regular schedule of full briefing, oral argument and signed opinions. These include requests to stay lower-court rulings, emergency applications and orders in pending petitions. Several justices have said the label is misleading and prefer "emergency docket" or "interim docket."

Applications usually come from a party asking the Court to pause a lower-court ruling while an appeal proceeds. They go first to the justice who supervises the relevant circuit, who may refer them to the full Court. Orders are often brief and may carry no explanation, though some include written dissents or short majority statements.

The emergency docket drew more attention as the federal government began asking the Court to halt injunctions against executive policies, including through the nationwide injunction fights. Critics say important rules take effect without careful reasoning; defenders say emergency relief is necessary, that the Court explains more than it used to, and that interim orders are not final rulings. Compare cases the Court takes through a writ of certiorari.