In the beginning, there was the merits docket--the slow, tedious certiorari process that can take a year or more to resolve a case. But that was too slow. Then there was the emergency docket--or is it the interim docket?--for cases that need expedited attention. But that was too fast. The rocket docket became a hybrid, where emergency cases were argued in an expedited fashion. That may have been just right for certain cases, but in other conflicts, something different was called for.
Welcome to the lightning docket. Now, for the third time in the span of a few weeks, Circuit Justice Kavanaugh has been drawn into Missouri's redistricting fight. And twice, so far, he was swiftly ruled against allowing the Republican map to go into effect. Indeed, as I noted, he ruled so quickly that he couldn't have possibly even read the briefs.
Last night, the intervenors filed an emergency application around 11:50 PM. Justice Kavanaugh almost immediately called for a response, due today at 2:00 PM. Does anyone think a word of Missouri's brief will matter? Almost immediately, expect an immediate stay.
Google tells me it takes a ray of light about 4 milliseconds to travel from the Supreme Court of the United States to the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis. I suspect it took Justice Kavanaugh even less time than that to settle this matter. The Circuit Justice, like Zeus on Mount Olympus, instantly strikes down wayward lower courts with a bolt of lightning.
Fortunately, the St. Louis Cardinals are out of town today, as that bolt could explode the lights at nearby Busch Stadium. Justice Kavanaugh would be just like Roy Hobbs in The Natural. The writ of mandamus is Wonderboy.
This is the lightning docket, where standing and the merits are irrelevant. All that matters is ending the game.
Thoughts and prayers to the lawyers who had to stay up all night writing a brief that will never be read.
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