shadow docket

— This is not very surprising given that overall confidence in the court has been slipping for the better part of the past decade. But the precipitous drop in the court’s popularity particularly in recent years is worth noting. Based on the poll, the court experienced a major additional blow to its reputation in 2022, fresh off the Dobbs decision that struck down Roe v. Wade and ushered in a wave of draconian abortion laws in mostly red states across the country. It also shows that public sentiment has dipped amid justices’ increased use of the shadow docket, where cases do not get full briefing or argument — especially in challenges to Trump’s policies and actions. And this is increasingly true even with conservative Americans.