Federal Judges Are Mad at the Supreme Court

By Thor Benson  |  October 22, 2025 | 10:06am
DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Vanessa White
Supreme Court Supreme Court
Federal Judges Are Mad at the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has been issuing decisions through its “Shadow Docket” much more regularly this year than in years past, and this means it’s handing out decisions that are unsigned and largely unexplained. The Court has mostly been ruling in favor of the administration, which has been consistently testing the limits of the law. This situation has left many federal judges, who have to contend with these Supreme Court orders, quite frustrated.

According to a report by the New York Times, dozens of federal judges have said the orders the Supreme Court has been putting out have been “incredibly demoralizing and troubling.” Some went as far as to describe what’s happening as a “judicial crisis.” Federal judges don’t typically express these kinds of opinions to the press, so this is quite unprecedented and demonstrates how concerned these judges are becoming.

“It’s a bit unusual for lower court judges to criticize the Supreme Court,” Daniel Epps, a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, told Splinter. “In general it’s pretty unusual for federal judges to speak so frankly about their role, even if anonymously.”

Epps said that the Supreme Court has often disagreed with how lower courts have ruled in cases related to the Trump administration, but since it’s using the Shadow Docket to reverse rulings, there’s often little explanation as to why it disagrees with these courts. This is leaving federal judges confused and unsure of how to proceed.

“They’re slapping down the lower courts often with little or no explanation,” Epps said. “That can feel very frustrating to the lower courts, who are working hard to decide cases quickly and are then being told that they are doing it wrong without explanation.”

District court judges have notably been pushing back against the excesses of the Trump administration in many cases, but that only goes so far if the Supreme Court keeps backing the administration. That said, the Supreme Court only takes so many cases per year, so some of what the lower courts decide will remain intact.

“I think we will continue to see lower court judges ruling against the administration as long as the administration keeps pushing the envelope,” Epps said. “I don’t think the Supreme Court will be able to get all the district court judges to stop trying to push back on the administration’s lawlessness.”

This seems to be the case in many situations surrounding the Trump administration. They will face notable pushback or obstacles while trying to do something that hasn’t previously been done, but they’ll often be able to get around some of the major checks on their power. However, if a significant number of obstacles still remain, it does still slow their ability to achieve what they are attempting to achieve. 

The Supreme Court has been quite agreeable with the Trump administration thus far, but the administration keeps trying to push the boundaries, and it remains to be seen if the Court will reach a breaking point where it can no longer go along to get along. Regardless, the lower courts continue to do important work, and they will likely continue to upset an administration that calls them insurrectionists, despite the fact they’re behaving as the courts are supposed to. 

 
Join the discussion...