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Politics dictionary results for shadow docket.

shadow docket

American  

[shad-oh dok-it] / ˈʃæd oʊ ˌdɒk ɪt /

noun

1. a list of the cases resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court by unsigned procedural orders issued without full briefing, oral arguments, or lengthy written opinions.

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Etymology

Origin of shadow docket

Coined by U.S. legal scholar and University of Chicago law professor William P. Baude (born 1950) in 2015

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shadow docket

We saw in that shadow docket order from last year, the court said, We think the Federal Reserve is different because of reasons.

From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026

Congress should address the shadow docket in three ways.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026

When those are removed, what’s left is known as the shadow docket — cases that seek to skip the usual order of things and ask for a quick ruling from the court’s justices.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

On the shadow docket, justices do not have to make their votes known.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

It’s a “three-ring circus”: the merits docket, the shadow docket, and the justices’ increasingly public intramural snipings and gripes.

From Slate ● May 30, 2026

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