by
Collection
of
the
Supreme
Court
of
the
United
States
via
Getty
Images
There’s
a
pretty
clear
hierarchy
in
the
federal
judiciary,
with
the
nine
justices
on
the
Supreme
Court
sitting
at
the
top
of
the
pyramid.
So
much
so
that
a
district
court
judge
recent
took
the
unusual
step
of
apologizing
to
the
Supreme
Court
for
not
divining
precisely
what
a
shadow
docket
decision
—
sans
a
written
opinion,
natch
—
meant.
So
it’s
unusual
for
lower
court
judges
to
talk
smack
about
the
High
Court.
But
that’s
what
a
bunch
of
judges
did
—
anonymously
—
to
NBC
News
about
the
foreshadowed
shadow
docket.
(Yes,
we
will
continue
to
refer
to
SCOTUS’s
emergency
docket
as
the
shadow
docket–
a
term
penned
by
Professor
William
Baude
from
the
University
of
Chicago,
no
matter
the
desires
of
Brett
Kavanaugh
because
it
more
accurately
reflects
the
shady
ass
shit
the
Court
is
doing
with
it.)
See,
they’re
miffed
that
despite
the
hard
work
the
district
courts
are
doing
on
the
contentious
issues
that
are
flooding
to
the
courts
thanks
to
the
Trump
administration’s
flouting
of
a
wide
variety
of
laws,
political
norms,
and,
you
know,
the
Constitution,
as
soon
as
they
rule
against
the
administration,
the
shadow
docket
swoops
in.
Those
unbriefed
decisions
without
written
opinions
are
overwhelmingly
going
in
favor
of
the
administration
and
are
leaving
the
lower
courts
in
the
lurch.
Ten
of
the
12
judges
who
spoke
to
NBC
News
said
the
Supreme
Court
should
better
explain
those
rulings,
noting
that
the
terse
decisions
leave
lower
court
judges
with
little
guidance
for
how
to
proceed.
But
they
also
have
a
new
and
concerning
effect,
the
judges
said,
validating
the
Trump
administration’s
criticisms.
A
short
rebuttal
from
the
Supreme
Court,
they
argue,
makes
it
seem
like
they
did
shoddy
work
and
are
biased
against
Trump.“It
is
inexcusable,”
a
judge
said
of
the
Supreme
Court
justices.
“They
don’t
have
our
backs.”
That’s
especially
true
given
the
mounting
threats
against
federal
judges.
And
when
the
shadow
docket
overturns
the
lower
courts
without
explaining
themselves,
they
open
the
door
to
the
increasingly
heated
rhetoric
coming
from
the
administration.
And
the
MAGA
faithful
have
taken
the
bait,
amping
up the
threats aimed
at
the
judiciary.
For
example,
two
judges
received
extra
security
details
after their
rulings put a
pause on
the DOGE
takeover and
resulted
in
right-wing
backlash.
And
the
administration’s
response
to
the
judicial
threats
has
been absolutely
unhinged.
One
judge
said,
“Certainly,
there
is
a
strong
sense
in
the
judiciary
among
the
judges
ruling
on
these
cases
that
the
court
is
leaving
them
out
to
dry.
They
are
partially
right
to
feel
the
way
they
feel.”
The
Supreme
Court,
a
second
judge
said,
is
effectively
assisting
the
Trump
administration
in
“undermining
the
lower
courts,”
leaving
district
and
appeals
court
judges
“thrown
under
the
bus.”The
Supreme
Court
has
an
obligation
to
explain
rulings
in
a
way
the
public
can
understand,
a
third
judge
said,
adding
that
when
the
court
so
frequently
rules
for
the
administration
in
emergency
cases
without
fully
telling
people
why,
it
sends
a
signal.
The
court
has
had
strong
left-leaning
majorities
in
the
past,
but
what
is
different
now
is
the
role
emergency
cases
are
playing
in
public
discourse.
It’s
stunning
that
lower
court
judges
feel
the
need
to
call
out
SCOTUS
like
this.
Alicia
Bannon,
Director
of
the
Kohlberg
Center
on
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court
at
the
Brennan
Center
for
Justice
at
NYU
Law,
pointed
out
it’s
“clear
that
lower
court
judges
are
sounding
the
alarm.”
“Our
democratic
institutions
are
facing
unprecedented
threats
and
federal
judges
are
on
the
front
lines.
This
means
lots
of
fast-moving
cases
and
novel
legal
issues.
It
has
been
VERY
striking
to
see
the
disconnect
between
lower
courts
and
SCOTUS
in
how
to
approach
this
rule
of
law
emergency.”
And
it’s
a
terrible
indicator
for
our
legal
system.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].