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BumRushDaShow

(168,689 posts) Tue Mar 10, 2026, 07:44 AM 14 hrs ago

104

Supreme Court Justices Jackson and Kavanaugh clash over handling of Trump cases

Source: NBC News

March 9, 2026, 7:46 PM EDT

WASHINGTON — Internal Supreme Court divisions over how the high court has frequently ruled in favor of the Trump administration in emergency situations spilled out into public Monday with liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh locking horns.

The court's conservative majority has on a regular basis blocked lower court rulings that have stymied President Donald Trump's agenda, sparking criticism from within and outside the judiciary.

Jackson, often a vocal dissenter in those cases, forcefully aired her critique of the court's actions in a rare public appearance with Kavanaugh at an event for lawyers and judges held at the federal courthouse in Washington. Bemoaning the recent increase in such emergency filings — requested to challenge lower court rulings — she suggested that the number of filings would drop if the court were stingier about granting them.

The procedure has become known as the “shadow docket” because the court rarely hears arguments and often issues terse decisions with little explanation. The Supreme Court decisions can allow policies to go into effect at early stages in legal challenges, long before lower courts have reached any definitive conclusions. The cases might then return to the Supreme Court later in the process, leading to final decisions on the merits.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-justices-jackson-kavanaugh-clash-handling-trump-cases-rcna262622

18 replies

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Highlight:

Supreme Court Justices Jackson and Kavanaugh clash over handling of Trump cases (Original Post) BumRushDaShow 14 hrs ago OP

I am so glad we have Justice Jackson on the SC!! riversedge 14 hrs ago #1

Yes, so true..she is brilliant mountain grammy 12 hrs ago #4

The shadow docket needs to be eliminated. MLWR 13 hrs ago #2

The Shadow Docket could be rebranded C_U_L8R 13 hrs ago #3

We need to impeach the members of the court who lied in their confirmation hearings, BComplex 12 hrs ago #5

A prediction: cab67 12 hrs ago #6

The prediction was that Alito would do so first BumRushDaShow 11 hrs ago #7

I would have thought Thomas because of his age. cab67 9 hrs ago #10

Thomas is a stubborn mule BumRushDaShow 6 hrs ago #13

I concede the point. cab67 5 hrs ago #14

Gives him something to do while his wife Gini wreaks havoc around the country. BumRushDaShow 5 hrs ago #15

Good BaronChocula 8 hrs ago #11

Unfortunately - cab67 7 hrs ago #12

Yes, I had my timing off BaronChocula 5 hrs ago #16

Expand the court by multiples of 9, say 27 or more. Make them rotate randomly into travelingthrulife 11 hrs ago #8

A short description... littlemissmartypants 9 hrs ago #9

Ketanji Brown Jackson airs dirty laundry in public clash with Kavanaugh over helping Trump LetMyPeopleVote 4 hrs ago #17

Part of what's so distressing about these S. Ct. decisions is snot 2 hrs ago #18

riversedge

(80,516 posts)

1. I am so glad we have Justice Jackson on the SC!!

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 07:57 AM

14 hrs ago

mountain grammy

(28,948 posts)

4. Yes, so true..she is brilliant

Reply to riversedge (Reply #1)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 10:12 AM

12 hrs ago

MLWR

(976 posts)

2. The shadow docket needs to be eliminated.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 08:53 AM

13 hrs ago

It serves only as a lazy-@$$ means for the justices not to do their jobs of justifying with rational argument their giving trump whatever he wants, and even violating the words and/or principles laid out in the Constitution.

C_U_L8R

(49,295 posts)

3. The Shadow Docket could be rebranded

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 09:26 AM

13 hrs ago

Maybe The Authoritarian Shortcut or The Supreme Favor Dispenser.
Though Shadow Docket sounds appropriately corrupt.

BComplex

(9,863 posts)

5. We need to impeach the members of the court who lied in their confirmation hearings,

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 10:14 AM

12 hrs ago

or who have been hob-nobbing with political hacks who are offering them the big nazi (Heritage foundation, Federalist society) bucks to rule in their favor.

cab67

(3,696 posts)

6. A prediction:

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 10:17 AM

12 hrs ago

- if Democrats win control of the Senate this November, Clarence Thomas will immediately announce his retirement. Alito might also do so.

The Rs know Democrats won't let Trump appoint another hard-right ideologue to the Supreme Court. They'll follow the McConnell Rule and ram the nominations through before the new Congress is sworn in in January 2027.

BumRushDaShow

(168,689 posts)

7. The prediction was that Alito would do so first

Reply to cab67 (Reply #6)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 10:46 AM

11 hrs ago

as he apparently hinted at it with hit latest book.

cab67

(3,696 posts)

10. I would have thought Thomas because of his age.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Reply #7)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 01:05 PM

9 hrs ago

BumRushDaShow

(168,689 posts)

13. Thomas is a stubborn mule

Reply to cab67 (Reply #10)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 04:34 PM

6 hrs ago

who will probably die on the bench. He is just 2 years older than Alito.

cab67

(3,696 posts)

14. I concede the point.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Reply #13)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 05:20 PM

5 hrs ago

BumRushDaShow

(168,689 posts)

15. Gives him something to do while his wife Gini wreaks havoc around the country.

Reply to cab67 (Reply #14)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 05:25 PM

5 hrs ago

BaronChocula

(4,440 posts)

11. Good

Reply to cab67 (Reply #6)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 02:03 PM

8 hrs ago

And Democrats should refuse nomination hearings based on the McConnell rule - that the voters should decide SCOTUS nominations via the next presidential election.

cab67

(3,696 posts)

12. Unfortunately -

Reply to BaronChocula (Reply #11)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 03:10 PM

7 hrs ago

as long as Republicans control the Senate, they can call hearings and approve the nominations. There won't be much Democrats can do about it. They can't filibuster these things anymore.

BaronChocula

(4,440 posts)

16. Yes, I had my timing off

Reply to cab67 (Reply #12)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 05:38 PM

5 hrs ago

if Dems win, they won't take control until January of course.

travelingthrulife

(5,054 posts)

8. Expand the court by multiples of 9, say 27 or more. Make them rotate randomly into

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 10:58 AM

11 hrs ago

9 judge panels. They will have more difficulty making these political alliances. Plus, we need more justices, we have lots more people and legal business.

Make them less special. They are public servants.

Term limits and actual, real punishments for crimes or unethical behavior.

littlemissmartypants

(32,815 posts)

9. A short description...

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 12:53 PM

9 hrs ago

The SD encourages drunken stupid judges to expand their laziness.

LetMyPeopleVote

(178,665 posts)

17. Ketanji Brown Jackson airs dirty laundry in public clash with Kavanaugh over helping Trump

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 05:45 PM

4 hrs ago

Kavanaugh is a really bad SCOTUS justice. It takes a great deal for a SCOTUS justice to air the SCOTUS' dirty laundry in public. I am so glad that Justice Jackson is letting us know what is going on

Supreme Court justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh sparred publicly on Monday over how the court has repeatedly stepped in to aid policies pushed by President Donald Trump.
— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2026-03-10T09:40:09Z

https://www.rawstory.com/supreme-court-trump-2675949151

Supreme Court justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh sparred publicly on Monday over how the court has repeatedly stepped in to aid policies pushed by President Donald Trump.

The rare exchange occurred during a joint appearance at a federal courthouse event in Washington, D.C., where the two justices discussed the court’s growing use of emergency rulings – often referred to as the “shadow docket,” according to NBC News.

Jackson, who has frequently dissented in such cases, sharply criticized the high court’s increased willingness to intervene early in legal challenges involving the Trump administration.

“I just feel like this uptick in the court's willingness to get involved ... is a real unfortunate problem," Jackson said.

The court’s conservative majority has repeatedly used emergency orders to block lower court rulings that halted parts of Trump’s agenda, including moves allowing the administration to fire thousands of federal workers, assert control over previously independent agencies, and implement elements of the MAGA administration’s immigration policies.

Jackson warned Monday that the court’s practice could also inadvertently signal to lower courts how the Supreme Court might ultimately rule, creating “a warped kind of proceeding,” according to NBC News....

The public back-and-forth on Monday marked a rare moment between the two sitting justices.

“The justices have aired their disagreements in written opinions, but this was a rare example of two justices entering into a public debate about internal court business,” NBC News reported.

Link to tweet

snot

(11,723 posts)

18. Part of what's so distressing about these S. Ct. decisions is

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 10, 2026, 07:56 PM

2 hrs ago

that allowing Trump's actions to go forward will clearly cause irreparable harm, and if there's any chance that the injunctions would be upheld on appeal, they should have remained enjoined pending a final decision.

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