US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recently expressed significant concerns about how her colleagues are managing emergency requests, a process frequently used by the Trump administration to seek quick court decisions. Jackson, one of the three liberal justices on the court, criticized the justices’ tendency to issue rulings through the "shadow docket," arguing that this practice risks damaging public trust in the judicial system. Speaking at the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law, Jackson said, “There is a serious concern that the Supreme Court’s modern stay practices are having a disruptive and potentially corrosive effect.” Her comments followed an emergency request filed by the Trump administration, which asked the court to permit officials to continue deporting immigrants to countries other than their own. The emergency docket, sometimes called the “shadow docket,” allows individuals or groups to ask the Supreme Court for immediate relief in cases that are seen as urgent or consequential. Unlike regular cases, which undergo detailed legal review and public explanation, emergency requests are often decided quickly without the same level of scrutiny. The Trump administration has used this method to advance its policy goals, filing over 30 such requests since it returned to power in January 2025. Many of these requests have been granted, enabling the administration to temporarily halt protections for asylum seekers, roll back environmental regulations, remove transgender rights, and dismiss officials from independent federal agencies. Justice Elena Kagan, another liberal justice, recently told Congress that the court was improving its handling of emergency requests by providing more justifications for its decisions. However, Jackson acknowledged that while the court was becoming more transparent, it was still not offering the same level of detailed explanation as it does in regular cases. “If we’re not careful, the emergency docket can and will become an end-run around the standard review process,” she warned. Her remarks highlight the growing debate over the role of the emergency docket and the potential risks of allowing such decisions to bypass thorough legal review. As Jackson voiced her concerns, three of her colleagues—Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett—were seen dining with President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a White House state dinner. The event marked the official welcome for Xi Jinping, underscoring the complex political dynamics surrounding the Supreme Court and its interactions with the executive branch.