Jonathan Adler and Stephen Vladeck Debate the Use of the “Shadow Docket” on the Roberts Court

In this episode, Jonathan Adler of William & Mary Law School and Stephen Vladeck of Georgetown University Law Center explore a part of the Supreme Court’s work that has drawn growing public attention: its emergency, or “shadow,” docket. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. 

 

Resources

• Jonathan Adler, “Reading the Clean Power Plan "Shadow Papers" in Context,” The Volokh Conspiracy (April 22, 2026) 
• Jonathan Adler, “Mifepristone Returns to the Shadow Docket,” The Volokh Conspiracy (May 3, 2026) 
• Stephen Vladeck, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic (2024) 
• Stephen Vladeck, “Chief Justice Roberts and the Clean Power Plan,” OneFirst (April 20, 2026) 
• City of Los Angeles v. Lyons (1983) 
• Massachusetts v. EPA (2007) 
• Winter v. NRDC (2008) 
• West Virginia v. EPA (2016) 
• Biden v. Texas (2022) 
• United States v. Texas (2023) 
• FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (2024) 
• Trump v. CASA (2024) 
• NIH v. American Public Health Association (2025)

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