SHADOW Act
Sponsored By: Representative Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8]
Introduced
Summary
Stricter standards and on-record public reasons for Supreme Court stays and All Writs Act writs. This bill would force clearer, injury-based showings before the Court can pause lower-court orders or issue extraordinary writs and would require prompt publication of the Court's reasons.
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- Litigants seeking a stay would need to show a specific, concrete, and irreparable injury that is distinct from any harm caused by the stay itself. The Court could not base a stay on findings about the case's ultimate merits or a party's likelihood of prevailing.
- Stays would be limited in precedential effect and must account for whether issuing relief would substantially injure other parties or serve the public interest. That narrows how a stay can affect people beyond the immediate case.
- For writs under the All Writs Act the Court would have to find a critical and exigent need and an indisputably clear legal right. The Court or a justice must put reasons on the record and publish them on the public docket, or do so within 7 days in emergencies.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New limits on emergency Supreme Court orders
If enacted, this bill would raise the legal standard for Supreme Court emergency stays and All Writs Act writs. The Court or a justice would have to find a specific, concrete, and irreparable injury before granting a stay. A stay decision would not decide the case's main issues, would generally not create precedent, and would cover orders that pause or change lower-court injunctions. A writ under the All Writs Act would be allowed only when a critical, urgent circumstance makes it necessary to protect an indisputably clear legal right. For both stays and writs, the Court would put its reasons on the record and publish them on the public docket when the motion is decided, or within 7 days if immediate action was required.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8]
MD • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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