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

Example Sentences

Legal scholars often have used the term “shadow docket,” because these cases don’t typically get oral arguments or other measures of transparency that distinguish the court’s regular docket.

From The Wall Street Journal

Several cases from the court’s emergency docket, or shadow docket, in recent months indicate that other justices share that desire.

From Salon

When asked to explain the court’s “shadow docket”, she ad-libbed a hypothetical all but identical to Monday’s real decision.

From Los Angeles Times

Since shadow docket decisions have not been formally decided, it’s possible the justices could change their minds if and when the case comes before them.

From Salon

But nowhere is the uncertainty as great as a separate category of cases that have come to be known as the shadow docket.

From Seattle Times