Shadowy Supreme Court: A Conversation w/ Stephen Vladeck

Good Law | Bad Law

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by returning guest and friend of the podcast, professor Stephen Vladeck, of the University of Texas at Austin, School of Law, to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court and the notion of its secretive “shadow docket.”

In today’s episode, Stephen returns to our show to discuss an obscure legal procedure known as, the “shadow docket.” Throughout today’s conversation, Aaron and Stephen explore just what exactly this is, what it means for the country, how it impacts democracy, and how it is being used. Cases on this docket can effectively be decided quickly and quietly – sometimes even without knowing all of the evidence; they can be resolved even when lower cases are still processing them and without providing explanations and/or signed opinions. Stephen and Aaron address the dangers that this type of power can have and whether or not there are any checks and balances in place in our system to keep these powers regulated.

Professor Vladeck holds the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law and is a nationally recognized expert on the federal courts, constitutional law, national security law, and military justice. Stephen has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court, and lower federal civilian and military courts; he has served as an expert witness in both U.S. state and federal courts and in foreign tribunals. Professor Vladeck has received numerous awards for his influential and widely-cited legal scholarship, his popular writing, his teaching, and his service to the legal profession.

Professor Vladeck is also a host of his own podcast, the National Security Law Podcast, which he co-hosts with Professor Bob Chesney. He is CNN’s Supreme Court analyst and a co-author of Aspen Publishers’ leading national security law and counterterrorism law casebooks. He is the executive editor of the Just Security blog and a senior editor of the Lawfare blog.

Listen now!

To learn more about Professor Vladeck, please click here.

To check out Professor Vladeck’s co-hosted podcast, the National Security Law Podcast, please click here.

To read the Reuters’ article, “The 'shadow docket': How the U.S. Supreme Court quietly dispatches key rulings,” in which Professor Vladeck was quoted, please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guest: Stephen Vladeck

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