A Troubling Milestone: Most Supreme Court Rulings Are Secretive Votes With Little Justification ^42.3%

ProPublica - By Ken B. Morales - 7/1/2026, 9:00 AM

Negativity Bias 29.7% - Biased Writer Voice 18.6% - Post Hoc (False Cause) 11.3%

In its term that ended last October, the Supreme Court passed an important milestone that went unnoticed: For the first time, it decided more cases by secret ballot, and with few signed opinions, than it did for cases argued in open court. These decisions, which make up the court’s “shadow docket,” are a fast-track way to get a decision... more