MAGA Supreme Court's DESPERATION SHOWS as Trump COLLAPSES

Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian break down one of the most powerful and least understood tools the Trump administration has been exploiting: the Supreme Court's shadow docket. Based on a recent New York Times report that revealed internal memos between justices dating back to 2016, Brian and Shant explain how what started as an emergency mechanism has been weaponized roughly 20 times since Trump took office to override lower court rulings with no oral arguments, no published opinions, and no public vote counts. The shadow docket allows the court's 6-3 conservative supermajority to effectively veto policies overnight — blocking lower court orders that stopped the Trump administration from doing something — with zero transparency about the justices' reasoning. The three liberal justices have begun publicly dissenting and warning about the danger. Brian and Shant walk through why Congress isn't powerless here: under Article III, the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction is subject to regulations Congress prescribes, and Congress has historically shaped court procedure through statute. They discuss the Shadow Docket Sunlight Act of 2025, which would require written explanations and public vote counts on emergency orders, and propose additional reforms like requiring cases to go through appellate courts first and mandating oral arguments within a set timeframe after any temporary stay. As Brian warns: what's good for the goose is good for the gander — when the court's makeup eventually changes, the same tool will swing the other way. Kabateck LLP: Call 1-844-74-CIVIL for a free case evaluation or visit us at https://www.kbklawyers.com/ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@LegalAFMTN?sub_confirmation=1 Become a member of Legal AF YouTube community: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgZJZZbnLFPr5GJdCuIwpA/join Become a member of the Legal AF Substack: https://michaelpopok.substack.com/20off Follow Legal AF on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/legalafmtn.bsky.social Follow Michael Popok on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mspopok.bsky.social Subscribe to the Legal AF podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legal-af-by-meidastouch/id1580828595 Subscribe to the Intersection with Michael Popok podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-intersection-with-michael-popok/id1818863274 Subscribe to Unprecedented with Michael Popok and Dina Doll podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unprecedented-by-legal-af/id1867023089 Subscribe to Court of History with Sidney Blumenthal and Sean Wilentz podcast feed here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-court-of-history/id1867022920