Trump suffers rare loss in Supreme Court's shadow docket
Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Associate Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor bow their heads during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Politico's Josh Gerstein posted on X that the justices turned down a request to immediately stop free-speech lawsuits by fired immigration judges.
The issue came up when Trump began firing immigration court judges. It would give Trump an opportunity to install his own "judges" who might fast-track deportations. Many of the firings are from liberal areas, Bloomberg reported.
The disputes went to the court and the administration argued that the cases should go before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.
The "shadow docket" is when the justices decide to fast-track a decision without having any public arguments or legal briefings. It's so named because there's no transparency in the process. Justices have begun using it more frequently in the past year.
