The “shadow docket” refers to cases that the court settles without going through the entire process of granting cert, soliciting briefs, scheduling oral arguments, and then eventually issuing a signed opinion. The secret here isn’t the case - it’ll be sitting in the docket for all to see - it is what the justices were thinking when they settled the case the way they did.
The overwhelming majority of shadow docket actions are either the court refusing to hear an appeal (“denying cert” in the lingo) or issuing a temporary injunction to stop something while legal issues around it are still being litigated.
The “shadow docket” refers to cases that the court settles without going through the entire process of granting cert, soliciting briefs, scheduling oral arguments, and then eventually issuing a signed opinion. The secret here isn’t the case - it’ll be sitting in the docket for all to see - it is what the justices were thinking when they settled the case the way they did.
The overwhelming majority of shadow docket actions are either the court refusing to hear an appeal (“denying cert” in the lingo) or issuing a temporary injunction to stop something while legal issues around it are still being litigated.