Jodi Kantor

How did the court start doing this?

Where does this come from?

Adam, I know we've talked about

And over the past 10 years, this has really become a major part of the court's business, including in some decisions over the past year or so that have awarded President Trump enormous leeway and power.

And what critics have worried about is they've said... The race to create fait accompli.

Why is the Supreme Court not moving at its usual careful, deliberate pace?

So critics have been concerned both about the quality of the rulings.

Is it possible to issue a really solid ruling in such a shortened process?

And also the lack of communication with the public.

Yes.

And so the question is, what is actually happening inside the Supreme Court with these cases?

And Adam and I wanted to see if we could find out.

And we did.

Well, the New York Times has obtained and has published 16 pages of confidential correspondence among the justices, meaning their private back and forth, that reveal the origins of the shadow docket.

Through these papers, we can eavesdrop on the justices at the exact moment that

that they are abandoning time-tested norms of judicial procedure and backing themselves into a new way of doing business.

Exactly.

Correct.

It's a 5-4 court that leans towards Republican-appointed justices.

But people from that era say the Supreme Court was really different back then.