Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts The Roberts Court’s Internal Reckoning
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Mar 21, 2026 
Mark Joseph Stern, legal reporter known for sharp analysis of the Supreme Court, breaks down the Roberts Court’s chaotic term. He discusses the shadow docket's impact, high-stakes immigration and TPS fights, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s public objections, and the Chief Justice’s muted response to threats against judges. Short, urgent takes on how the Court’s procedures reshape real-world rights.
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What Temporary Protected Status Actually Is
- TPS lets the executive protect immigrants from returning to dangerous countries by designating stays for 6–18 month periods.
- Congress created it in 1990 and presidents of both parties have used it to avoid sending people back to war, hurricanes, or other dangers.
How The Administration Tried To Strip TPS Quickly
- Kristi Noem tried to prematurely vacate TPS designations, stripping hundreds of thousands of people of status overnight.
- The statute doesn't authorize midstream vacatur and administrative‑law requirements (reasoned explanation) were ignored, making the moves legally vulnerable.
Shadow Docket's Human Consequences
- The Supreme Court repeatedly used the shadow docket to freeze lower courts and allow revocations without explanation.
- These orders were unexplained, unreasoned, and immediately destabilized immigrants' lives by reversing lower‑court protections.