KQED's Forum Supreme Court Term Will Test the Scope of Presidential Power
Oct 9, 2025
Join legal experts Mark Joseph Stern, a senior writer at Slate, Melissa Murray, a law professor at NYU, and Olatunde C. Johnson, a professor at Columbia Law, as they dissect the Supreme Court's new term. They explore the implications of potential rulings on presidential power, the Voting Rights Act, and transgender athlete rights. The panel also examines the impact of amicus briefs and the court's evolving stance on race-conscious voting remedies. Insights into the court's conservative shift and the risks of ignoring precedent add depth to their analysis.
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Shadow Docket Powers Trump Agenda
- The Supreme Court has used the shadow docket extensively to issue sparse emergency stays that favor the Trump administration's actions.
- These orders often restore or preserve executive actions without full explanations, bypassing normal merits review.
Court Often Backs Broad Presidential Authority
- The high court frequently supports broad claims of presidential authority, reversing lower-court limits on executive actions.
- That dynamic lets the administration pursue wide-ranging changes to agencies and policy with minimal judicial restraint.
Unitary Executive Shifts Agency Independence
- The unitary executive theory has shifted expectations about presidential control of agencies and removals.
- Upcoming FTC and related cases will test whether agencies remain meaningfully independent.