The Curious Lawyer: Supreme Court Secrecy - Shadow Dockets, Leaks and Cameras

• Shadow docket, what is it, how does it work?
        - Case examples: immigration, abortion, death penalty as injunction rulings.
        - 1970’s: lawyers hiking in woods to get to Justice Douglas to rule.
        - 1980’s: rule reform.
        - 2000’s: use expanding to resolve seeming precedential cases.
        - Are they precedential? Lower court confusion as seen from same sex marriage cases to immigration cases today
• Roe leak issue and Roe’s demise foreshadowed by shadow docket ruling.
        - History of various leaks in cases,
        - Secrecy rules & possible legislation, 1st amendment cases on courts and secrecy.
• SCOTUS cameras in court, secrecy, and public transparency.
        - COVID emergency situation…and the flush in time that embarrassed the 9…
        - Current post-COVID standards and pending legislation.
• Ultimate question: Should there be more transparency into SCOTUS or less?

Runtime: 1 hour, 3 minutes
Recorded: April 29, 2023

For NY - Difficulty Level: For both newly admitted & experienced attorneys.

You’ve probably heard of the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket,” but do you know how it can be used to affect the Court’s rulings? In the next installment of this popular series, Peter Afrasiabi reviews the origins and current usage of the “shadow docket,” including some proposed reforms to the practice. Peter also discusses the broader topic of transparency at the Court in light of the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion, the use of live audio feeds of oral arguments during COVID and other recent developments.

This program was recorded on April 29th, 2023.

New Media Legal