Showing results for "shadow docket"

shadow docket

American

[shad-oh dok-it] / ˈʃæd oʊ ˌdɒk ɪt /

noun

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.

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

Roberts once signed on to a Kagan dissent that assailed the shadow docket.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

Although rulings on the shadow docket are typically unsigned and do not include vote breakdowns, we were able to identify how a justice voted in some cases.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

It leads to this interplay between the shadow docket and the merits docket.

From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2026

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023