# Leaked Supreme Court Memos Reveal the Shadow Docket's Extremely Stupid (and Corrupt) Origins

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/opening-arguments-1055646/leaked-supreme-court-memos-reveal-the-shadow-docket-s-extremely-stupid-and-corrupt-origins
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/opening-arguments-1055646/leaked-supreme-court-memos-reveal-the-shadow-docket-s-extremely-stupid-and-corrupt-origins.md
Podcast: [Opening Arguments](https://stenobird.com/podcast/opening-arguments-1055646)
Published: 2026-04-22T10:05:00+00:00
Episode link: https://sites.libsyn.com/86258/leaked-supreme-court-memos-reveal-the-shadow-dockets-extremely-stupid-and-corrupt-origins
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/35/clrtpod.com/m/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/openargs/29_VR29.mp3?dest-id=455562
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/opening-arguments-1055646/episodes/leaked-supreme-court-memos-reveal-the-shadow-docket-s-extremely-stupid-and-corrupt-origins
Duration seconds: 5463

## Resource

VR29 - Thomas, Lydia, and Matt go deep on the “Shadow Papers,” the 2016 shadow docket memos recently leaked to The New York Times which reveal the truth about the deliberations preceding the first time of many times to come that the Supreme Court stopped the government from enforcing something before any court had a chance to rule on it. Can anyone still possibly believe that John Roberts is only there to call “balls and strikes” after seeing how enthusiastically he is pitching for the energy lobby in these documents? Why are these glorified work emails so important, and what can we learn about the current state of SCOTUS from them? Watch the episode on YouTube! Chief Justice John Roberts’s confirmation hearing (Sep. 12, 2005) “Read the Supreme Court’s Shadow Papers,” The New York Times (April 18, 2026) West Virginia v. EPA , 597 US ___ (2022) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

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