View from K Street: Justices delayed, justice delayed

As I write this during the third week of June 2026, the Supreme Court has yet to issue rulings in 20 cases. Some were argued in 2025, others five and six months ago. Many of the cases carry profound constitutional significance; others address pressing social and legal issues. Literally millions of people will be directly affected by these decisions. Election results will inevitably be moved by these rulings. Yet, the Court continues to live in its own sheltered world, untouched by the urgency of the matters before it and the need for prompt decisions in a society already questioning the Court’s independence. 

We know that when they want to, the Justices can act with dispatch. The willingness to resort to the “shadow docket” to dispose of politically charged matters—without explanation—is a hallmark of this Court. Indeed, when it appears to serve identifiably conservative interests, the Court almost trips over itself to issue helpful rulings. The vote to approve a new, gerrymandered map for Congressional districts in Alabama violated a Supreme Court precedent by intervening too close to an election—in this case, after constituents had started voting, but that presented no barrier to swift resolution.