Justice Jackson Warns Supreme Court’s Emergency Docket Carries ‘Institutional Costs’

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson urged her colleagues Thursday to intervene less often in emergency cases, warning that the court’s increasingly frequent use of its emergency docket imposes “institutional costs” and may erode ordinary judicial procedures.

Speaking at the University of the District of Columbia’s law school, Jackson questioned why some litigants should receive expedited Supreme Court consideration while others wait for review. She said the court has become “noticeably less restrained” in taking up pending cases involving controversial issues compared with its approach roughly 25 years ago, when she served as a Supreme Court clerk.

Jackson said the emergency docket could become “an end run around the standard review process” and a selective avenue for privileged litigants. She did not name President Donald Trump, though many recent emergency applications have come from his administration seeking to resume policies blocked by lower courts.

The Hill reported that the administration has filed 40 emergency applications since Trump returned to office. It argues that the volume reflects lower-court judges overstepping their authority, while critics say it shows the president has been acting lawlessly.

Hours before Jackson’s remarks, the administration returned to the court seeking to lift a permanent block on its third-country deportation policy. Jackson, who handles emergency matters arising from Massachusetts, ordered a response by Monday but did not immediately intervene.