Page 12 - Shadow Docket News Today

Basically the majority said, 'I do what I want!'

You know, this is the most conservative court that we could i think imagine in the last, you know, 50 or 60 years. theres no question about it. and there are lots of elements of the way in which this court operates that should concern us and concerns me as a lawyer, and so its not just the outcome of the cases, but its also the process. and if you actually believe in the legal process, which i do. im kind of nerdy about the stuff. then you are alarmed about the conduct of the court with the shad...

>> well, its unusual except in light of what the court has been doing in the last year or so which is what we call the shadow docket. that is not even having oral argument and briefing. so its good news that the court is slowing down its midnight rulings without fully hearing it out with the parties. but this is very unusual to have the court take something on an expedited basis. normally you have to file a petition for cert and wait until the next term, the fall, as were sitting to await huge d...

>> well, this case is, i think, a turning point, alex, and the fact that the alabama legislature, which has only 14 days to draw these new maps, the fact that theyve not yet scheduled a special session suggests that theyre very confident that they will win in the supreme court. they have asked the court to take the case, but pending right now on the supreme courts shadow docket is a motion that would keep the district courts ruling from going into effect. in essence, that would mean alabama woul...

Entered the redistricting, using a shadow docket ruling to block the creation of a second majority black congressional district in alabama. and despite a jump in alabamas black population, the new gop designed map actually decrease the groups electoral power. that map, backed black into one single black majority district, and cracked or broke up the rest into six other districts. where their numbers would not be large enough to have any real impact. just look at how awkward that map looks. under...

But something that sonia sotomayor said earlier this year, will the court survive the stench of the partisanship weve seen going on in that institution? she was specifically referring to an abortion case they were hearing, about whether or not a mississippi ban on abortion after 15 weeks could continue. it sounded obvious from the oral arguments that the conservatives were ready to ditch roe or make it no longer recognizable to those of us who support abortion rights. will the court survive the ...

Let me begin with you, rick, here on this point because i want you to help people understand. people have heard the news. theyve heard about what gerrymandering is and the alabama map. help us to contextualize why this is so significant that this is even being looked at on a shadow docket, for example? what do you say, rick? >> well, you know, the first thing to note is back in 2013, the supreme court killed a key part of the voting rights act called section 5 that would have required alabama to...

That follows the rule of law. and that when presented with a decision that is well reasoned, that is thorough as the one that we referred is, the 225 page decision, from a court that spokes to 17 witnesses and evaluated all of the evidence with distribution, unlike what the court did here, where it decided this on its shadow docket, without any arguments or prefer, when the supreme court finally gets this case, a full hearing which black alabamians and every person in this country deserve, we ex...

Just be esoteric conversations in a law school classroom and in a number of cases that the supreme court takes even in their shadow dockets where we have no idea what theyre truly thinking about those issues. thats going to be the very transparent among themselves moment, which the public we have no idea. and the instances involving criminal defendants in particular, i suspect it will be particularly influential at this court on the shadow docket. >> yeah. thats a great point about the shadow do...

The shadow docket and i hope that perhaps if they dont, congress will take some action. i finally want to ask, so far as this issue of transparency is concerned, about codes of ethics. you have followed a code of ethics as a district court judge and court of appeals judge, correct? >> i have. >> does that code of ethics apply to the united states supreme court? >> my understanding is that it does not. >> correct. and my hope is that you will perhaps urge your colleagues as well to support a code...