Vladeck, aflame: “Roberts didn’t change his mind sometime between 2016 and 2025; he’s just being a hypocrite. It’s irreparable harm for Republican presidents; just not Democrats”

The key here is how utterly impoverished the discussion was. There was no real debate and no in-person meeting to hash out differences of opinion; just a brief exchange of remarkably short memos over five days (two of which were a weekend). I’ve suggested before that folks would be floored to see just how little analysis and deliberation go into rulings like this that produce massive real-world effects; here, for once, is pretty compelling direct evidence in support of that speculation—and a pretty powerful rejoinder to those who have insisted that the Court’s internal debates in these cases are rigorous and deeply substantive. Whatever else this was, it wasn’t that.

Vladeck is exactly right.

Also, I’ve suggested before that it’s outrageous for the Court to nuke carefully reasoned lower court rulings so casually.

Federal judges ought be enraged to see this cavalier approach confirmed.

“a pretty powerful rejoinder to those who have insisted that the Court’s internal debates in these [shadow docket] cases are rigorous and deeply substantive.”

(Loyalty underdogs and work ethic? Yes. But, cmon, the Philly chip obviously is hostile.)

“the chip on the shoulder that is part of Philadelphia DNA … the Philly chip is not hostile. It’s about loyalty, underdogs, and the work ethic.”

Golly.

(Note “their jurisdiction in Florida” = Judge Cannon)

And this whole angry thread

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The shadow docket is how this Supreme Court steals judicial power from the rest of the federal courts. I’ve been banging this lonely drum for years now. One day people will realize this is true and important.

It's telling that the entire premise of the shadow docket is that lower courts are incompetent. Not wrong, not the normal judges-can-disagree stuff. SCOTUS is certain the Appellate and District courts are all so truly incompetent that they cannot properly decide injunctions, forcing SCOTUS to act.🙄

I agree

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The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court

Obvious point: If you’re a real “institutionalist” you need to be ready to reform —sometimes to radically reform—failing or corrupt institutions.

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court

it is, among other things, incredibly striking to see that roberts was so solicitous of the burden the clean power plan might put on fossil fuel executives, when, a decade later, he is indifferent to the way trump’s moves have thrown hundreds of thousands of lives into turmoil.

We have a serious problem with appellate courts not having district courts' backs on things like fact-intensive injunctions.

The Trump administration literally lied about the need for ballroom construction, and the appeals court is saying we like to be lied to.

The pre-KBJ liberals, I mean.

This NY Times piece offers interesting look into the birth of the shadow docket.

It reinforces my sense that the liberal justices are going to be viewed by history as disastrous mediocrities.

Over just five days, the justices had decided the issue. Even as they debated the Obama plan’s possible burden on the power industry, in the entire chain of correspondence obtained by The Times, not a single justice, conservative or liberal, mentioned the dangers of a warming planet as one of the possible harms the court should consider.

Another data point in “originalism is a fraud.” So much for the law is the law we can’t think about the impact. They rail against “results oriented judging” in public but when their corporate clients make requests they know exactly what to do. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

A small, bitter man

Extravagant, flamboyant corruption.

A favorite

Disbarring Eastman is *under*reach. He should be in prison.

Someone who used every tool at his disposal to overthrow our democratically elected government is most emphatically not a "good man," and most emphatically does deserve to have his career destroyed.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty: "Are we concerned as to whether there would be federal blowback? Not a concern of ours. Our role is to hold people accountable if they violate the laws of Minnesota. We feel strongly that this ICE agent committed 2nd degree assault."

This has been fun, have a nice day.

Imposing a broad external constraint on the judiciary’s power to adjudicate matters implicating national policy.

If the actual criticism of Vladeck boils down to the fact that he hasn’t embraced an idea that’s very far outside our legal tradition, one that to me sounds intriguing but hare-brained as described here, then I think it’s less a criticism of Vladeck than a clever way to get attention for the idea.

ICE agent charged with two felonies for pointing his gun at motorists during Operation Metro Surge Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said a nationwide warrant has been issued in the first criminal charges against an ICE agent for on-duty actions during the surge.

A nationwide warrant has been issued in the first criminal charges against an ICE agent for on-duty actions during the enforcement surge in Minnesota.

“I adamantly reject any effort to normalize a process whereby the Supreme Court actively superintends matters that are pending in the lower courts. There is no such thing as an interim docket,’ she said.”

🧵