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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6816 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6816
To improve the administration of justice by requiring written
explanations by the Supreme Court of its decisions and the disclosure
of votes by justices in cases within the appellate jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court that involve preliminary injunctive relief, and other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 17, 2025
Ms. Ross (for herself, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Scanlon,
and Mr. Correa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the administration of justice by requiring written
explanations by the Supreme Court of its decisions and the disclosure
of votes by justices in cases within the appellate jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court that involve preliminary injunctive relief, and other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Shadow Docket Sunlight Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. SUPREME COURT WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS AND DISCLOSURE OF VOTING IN
CASES INVOLVING PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.
(a) In General.--Chapter 155 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2285. Written explanations and disclosure of voting in Supreme
Court cases involving preliminary injunctive relief
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `Supreme Court' means the Supreme Court of
the United States, including any individual justice or set of
justices when acting on behalf of the Supreme Court of the
United States; and
``(2) the term `Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction'
means all cases within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
other than those within the original jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court.
``(b) Requirement.--
``(1) Written explanation and vote disclosure.--In any case
within the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction, the Supreme
Court may not issue any order granting, denying, or vacating
preliminary injunctive relief or granting, denying, or vacating
a stay of preliminary injunctive relief unless the Supreme
Court publishes a written explanation of reasons supporting
such order and indicates in writing how each participating
justice voted regarding such order.
``(2) Contents for orders granting, denying, or vacating
preliminary injunctive relief.--The written explanation
required under paragraph (1) for an order granting, denying, or
vacating preliminary injunctive relief shall include an
evaluation of the following criteria:
``(A) Whether an applicant seeking preliminary
injunctive relief is likely to succeed on the merits.
``(B) Whether an applicant seeking preliminary
injunctive relief is likely to suffer irreparable harm
absent such relief.
``(C) Whether the balance of equities tips in the
favor of an applicant seeking preliminary injunctive
relief.
``(D) Whether preliminary injunctive relief is in
the public interest.
``(3) Contents for orders granting, denying, or vacating a
stay of preliminary injunctive relief.--The written explanation
required under paragraph (1) for an order granting, denying, or
vacating a stay of preliminary injunctive relief shall include
an evaluation of the following criteria:
``(A) Whether the stay applicant has made a strong
showing of the likelihood of success on the merits.
``(B) Whether the stay applicant will be
irreparably injured absent a stay.
``(C) Whether issuance of the stay will
substantially injure the other parties interested in
the proceeding.
``(D) Whether a stay is in the public interest.
``(4) Multiple opinions.--The written explanation required
under paragraph (1) may be made in 1 or more opinions
representing a majority of justices participating in a
decision, without regard to whether a majority of the justices
participating in a decision publish the same written
explanation.
``(5) Administrative and scheduling orders excluded.--The
requirements of this subsection shall not apply to orders
granting or denying applications that relate only to
administrative or scheduling matters or petitions for
certiorari and that do not grant, deny, or vacate preliminary
injunctive relief or grant, deny, or vacate a stay of
preliminary injunctive relief.
``(c) Limitations and Inclusions.--In implementing this section,
the following shall apply:
``(1) Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify
the substantive standards applied by any court in deciding any
case.
``(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify
the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under any other law.
``(3) This section shall apply with respect to orders
issued in connection with a claim under chapter 5 or 7 of title
5.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 155 of
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``2285. Written explanations and disclosure of voting in Supreme Court
cases involving preliminary injunctive
relief.''.
SEC. 3. REPORTS.
(a) In General.--Not later than April 1 of the first year that
begins more than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and
April 1 of every second year thereafter, the Director of the Federal
Judicial Center shall submit to Congress a report--
(1) assessing the extent of compliance or noncompliance
with the requirements of section 2285 of title 28, United
States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act; and
(2) providing any recommendations of the Director regarding
ways to improve compliance with such section 2285.
(b) Additional Time.--For the first report required under
subsection (a), the Director of the Federal Judicial Center may submit
the report after the date described in that subsection if the Director
identifies in writing to Congress the amount of additional time needed
for completion of the report.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the
application of such a provision or amendment to any particular person
or circumstance is held invalid, the remaining provisions of this Act
and the amendments made by this Act, and the application of such
remaining provisions and amendments to any other person or
circumstance, shall not be affected thereby.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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