An instant New York Times bestseller

An acclaimed legal scholar's "important" (New York Times) and "fascinating" (Economist) exposé of how the Supreme Court uses unsigned and unexplained orders to change the law behind closed doors

"[The shadow docket] has been something that lawyers have been talking about for a long time; it’s really important for all of us to understand it.” - Rachel Maddow

“Mr. Vladeck offers a fascinating chronicle of the shadow docket’s rise…The author’s skill as a law professor shines in thorough, clear explanations of how the court has run roughshod over its own jurisprudence in shadow-docket cases involving abortion, religious liberty and election law…the illumination in The Shadow Docket could help bring more principle, accountability, and ‘procedural regularity’ to the justices work —and help stop a controversial institution going completely off the rails.” - The Economist

“Stephen Vladeck shines a harsh light on a little-understood SCOTUS sleight of hand — the shadow docket. Vladeck describes in clear and convincing language how the highest court in the land has increasingly used obscure procedural orders to shift the legal landscape to the right, at the expense of transparency, precedent, and fundamental rights. It is vital reading.”- Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York

The Supreme Court has always had the authority to issue emergency rulings in exceptional circumstances. But since 2017, the Court has dramatically expanded its use of the behind-the-scenes "shadow docket," regularly making decisions that affect millions of Americans without public hearings and without explanation, through cryptic late-night rulings that leave lawyers--and citizens--scrambling.  

The Court's conservative majority has used the shadow docket to green-light restrictive voting laws and bans on abortion, and to curtail immigration and COVID vaccine mandates. But Americans of all political stripes should be worried about what the shadow docket portends for the rule of law, argues Supreme Court expert Stephen Vladeck. In this rigorous yet accessible book, he issues an urgent call to bring the Court back into the light. Updated with a new preface, The Shadow Docket is an essential read for understanding the inner workings of the Supreme Court--and American democracy. 

Author Biography

Stephen Vladeck holds the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law. His work has been published in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Slate. He has argued before the Supreme Court and has been CNN's Supreme Court Analyst since 2013. Vladeck lives in Austin, Texas.