Panelists Cheri Beasley, Sandra Day O’Connor Professor at Elon Law and former chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, Erin Fitzgerald, assistant professor of law and a former prosecutor, and Jeremy McKinney, a renowned immigration attorney, explored variability in Constitutional protections and how those safeguards operate in practice. Their discussion was moderated by Professor of Law David Levine.
“Courts are grappling in real time with evolving issues,” Beasley said, noting a trend of brief orders and rulings from higher courts clouding how lower courts should respond. “Appellate courts sometimes use brief or per curiam dispositions. When major questions are resolved on abbreviated orders, the U.S. Supreme Court’s so-called ‘shadow docket,’ the lack of reasoning can disserve the public and the bar” through lack of legal guidance.
- Date Published:10.15.2025
- Original Publication: Today at Elon