Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket Gets Major Makeover: Noah Feldman

When should a court issue an emergency order blocking a law or government action from going into effect even before the court has fully considered the challenge to it? The Supreme Court has weighed in on this question in a case involving an Idaho ban on some forms of gender-affirming health care for transgender minors.

The conservative majority signaled that it will be hostile in the future to lower court orders that block a law from going into effect everywhere. That’s not so bad — in theory. But in practice, it’s not a great idea for laws that are obviously unconstitutional ...