Sidebar: The shadow docket

From firing high-profile government employees to making fundamental decisions on who can officially call themselves an American citizen, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Trump administration — its most frequent litigant lately — are turning to the court’s emergency docket to unkink the federal government’s policy hose. 

But unlike the court’s regular docket, the justices can use the emergency docket without having to explain themselves or even reveal how they voted, earning the nickname the "shadow docket.”

With so much litigation rising from federal court in Washington, D.C., or directly running afoul of laws passed by Congress, Courthouse News D.C. reporters Ben Weiss and Ryan Knappenberger also contributed to this episode. 

Sidebar tackles the top stories you need to know from the legal world. Join reporters Hillel Aron, Kirk McDaniel, Amanda Pampuro, Kelsey Reichmann and Josh Russell as they take you in and out of courtrooms in the U.S. and beyond and break down developments to help you understand how they affect your day-to-day life.

This episode was produced by Kirk McDaniel. Intro music by The Dead Pens.

Editorial staff is Ryan Abbott, Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.

More news from the U.S. Supreme Court's emergency docket:

• Barrett spurns Supreme Court bias claims after string of Trump shadow docket wins
• Mum’s the word on SCOTUS shadow docket
• Justices playing dangerous game with shadow docket, court watchers say