Ketanji Brown Jackson Criticizes Supreme Court's 'Shadow Docket'

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday criticized the court's use of its "shadow docket," expressing concern that the practice has led to a loss of public faith in the judiciary.

Jackson, appointed by President Joe Biden, stated that "we cannot expect the public to have faith in our judicial system if, without clear explanation, we are consistently green-lighting harmful acts that do real damage to litigating plaintiffs." Her remarks, delivered at the University of the District of Columbia, represent a rare public critique by a justice of the court's internal operations.

The "shadow docket" refers to the court's use of its emergency jurisdiction, often involving stays of lower court rulings. During President Donald Trump's administration, the Justice Department frequently utilized this process to seek the Supreme Court's intervention in blocking or advancing contentious policies. These cases typically proceed without oral arguments, and the court does not always provide detailed explanations or breakdowns of how individual justices voted.

Jackson, who has previously described the shadow docket's operation as "problematic," called for her colleagues to adhere to "first principles" and exercise greater restraint when intervening in politically charged cases. She argued that "very little good comes from taking an institution that is supposed to be operating outside of the political realm and routinely steering it into the fray."

During Trump's second term, the court, through the shadow docket, allowed several actions to proceed. These included the termination of more than 1,300 positions at the Department of Education in July 2025, the cancellation of $783 million in National Institutes of Health research grants linked to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in August 2025, and the execution of widespread immigration raids in Los Angeles.

The court has also, however, ruled against the Trump administration on shadow docket matters. In December 2025, the court blocked Trump from deploying the National Guard to Chicago, and in September 2026, it rejected stricter rules for mail-in voting.

Jackson has previously voiced her criticisms of the emergency docket in written dissents. In one opinion concerning the NIH grants case, she likened the court's reasoning to "Calvinball jurisprudence," a reference to a game from the "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip known for its arbitrary rules.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to begin its 2026-2027 term on October 5.