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Comment by throw0101a | Hacker News Reader

> Why can't they expedite for special cases?

To a certain extent this exists, but given that SCOTUS has been stacked with GOPers…

> The shadow docket is a break from ordinary procedure. Such cases receive very limited briefings and are typically decided a week or less after an application is filed. The process generally results in short, unsigned rulings. In contrast, merits cases take months, include extensive briefing and public oral argument, and result in lengthy written opinions detailing the reasoning of the majority and of any concurring and dissenting justices.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_docket

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It's not unusual that the "shadow docket" orders have limited briefings when the extent of the ruling/order is usually procedural, as opposed to ruling on the merits of the case.

It should be noted any justice can write a dissent in a "shadow docket" ruling. If a justice finds a ruling incorrect, nothing hides their criticism of it from the light.

This mechanism means that regardless of how awful the Trump admin proposal one SCOTUS justice can "temporarily" unblock it giving no reason at all, and then the "real" merits case can be slow-walked.

Slow-walked, conveniently, until the admin has finished doing whatever the original lawsuit claimed was illegal, and then the government argues it is impossible to undo after the fact.

The problem is that the rationale is hidden, not that criticism of it is hidden. If the Supreme Court doesn't explain why they make momentous, weighty decisions, that leaves the rest of us with only speculation, both in understanding how the decision should be applied to other cases and evaluating whether the decision made any sense at all.

(I agree that there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the even more recent trend of shadow docket decisions that do come with opinions attached, and perhaps law students in the 2030s will learn about the "expedited docket" as a normal way to handle cases.)

SCOTUS is not stacked with justices who are just GOPers. There are lots of Republicans who absolutely value the rule of law in this country!

The SCOTUS is stacked with reactionaries, people that want to take us back in history. They quite literally undid 60 years of civil rights legislation!

This is not a Democrat vs. Republican thing, this is is a very small minority that has taken control of an entire branch of government and is abusing their power.

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