Justices Clash Over Supreme Court's Emergency Rulings

Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh publicly disagreed about how the Supreme Court handles emergency requests from presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden during an event held at a federal courthouse in Washington on Monday.

Jackson criticized what she called an "unfortunate problem" with the court's increasing willingness to rule on emergency cases, also known as the shadow docket. She argued that this trend is not serving the court or the country well, according to CNN. Jackson has been vocal in her dissent against many of these rulings, particularly those favoring Trump.

Kavanaugh defended the court’s approach, arguing that it treats both administrations similarly and that presidents are forced to use executive orders due to congressional gridlock. He noted that some criticism of the emergency docket is unfair because the court must rule one way or another on these cases, as reported by The New York Times.

The Supreme Court has sided with Trump in 80% of his emergency applications, often without oral arguments or explanations. According to an analysis by Georgetown professor Stephen Vladeck, the court issued 30 emergency orders in cases related to Trump's second administration as of last month. By comparison, the Biden administration filed just 19 applications for emergency relief.

Jackson argued that most of the Biden administration’s legal wins on the shadow docket simply upheld existing policies while rulings favoring Trump have resulted in major policy changes. She said that the administration is making new policy but insisting it take effect immediately before challenges to its lawfulness are determined, as reported by The Washington Post.