Welcome back, Deadline: Legal Newsletter readers. Before the newsletter goes on hiatus until the next Supreme Court term, we're sending a special edition to spotlight an important issue: the shadow docket. While we cover consequential cases regardless of whether they're granted full briefing and public hearings, it's important to understand the cases that don't receive that robust treatment from the justices but are just as important. Only by reviewing the court's decisions in these emergency appeals can we truly understand the term and the court's trajectory.
The Alien Enemies Act, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Elon Musk's DOGE effort and other major issues were featured in those cases this term. I summed them up by writing that they "highlight the Roberts Court's choices to intervene in favor of a Trump administration that has run roughshod over the law. Even if the court didn't give the administration everything it wanted in every case, the majority failed to meet the moment in President Donald Trump's second term." You can read the rest of my post here.
And what's on tap for next term? The docket is still filling out on a rolling basis, but the court just granted review of an appeal from Republicans challenging campaign-finance restrictions. It's one of several cases set for next term from conservatives citing the First Amendment, which is generally a winning high-court strategy these days.
The newsletter will be on hiatus until the court kicks off the next term in October, but you may hear from us over the summer. In the meantime, catch the latest on MSNBC.com and the Deadline: Legal Blog.
