Political Quotes

“In his speech, Justice Alito reportedly zeroed in on our Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week and criticized one of the experts who testified, University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck. He also reportedly criticized an article by a respected journalist who writes about the Court frequently for a major magazine. Justice Alito derided the phrase ``shadow docket'' as a ``catchy and sinister term'' meant to convey something ``sneaky and dangerous.'' In fact, the phrase ``shadow docket'' was coined by a University of Chicago law professor, William Baude, who, incidentally, clerked for Chief Justice Roberts and has spoken more than 30 times in Federalist Society events. Justice Alito dismissed concerns about the shadow docket. He said: The media and political talk about the shadow docket is not serious criticism. What he failed to mention, however, is that some of the strongest warnings about the Court's changing use of the shadow docket have come not from politicians like ourselves or journalists but from Justice Alito's colleagues on the Court. Our hearing in the Judiciary Committee highlighted how Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Breyer, and even Chief Justice Roberts sounded the alarm about the Supreme Court's shadow docket ruling on the Texas abortion ban. Justice Sotomayor said of the Court's shadow docket decision on the Texas law: The Court's order is stunning.…”