Overview

• Justice Kavanaugh defended the court’s shadow docket process and highlighted recent increases in written explanations and emergency oral arguments in high-profile cases.
• He cautioned that issuing extensive opinions on preliminary orders risks a “lock-in effect” by revealing justices’ tentative views before final decisions.
• Justice Kagan urged the court to provide more detailed reasoning in its one-paragraph emergency rulings to guide lower courts and inform the public.
• President Trump’s administration has filed a record number of emergency applications on immigration directives and independent-agency firings, prompting scrutiny of terse orders.
• The justices are refining their emergency procedures to balance transparency, due process and the independence of the judiciary in fast-track executive challenges.