,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cecc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #ag1 #bjbe,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,padilla1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 ,ms4 ,smith1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 and ,mr4 ,wyden7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and 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 relief1 and other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,shadow ,docket ,sunlight ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,supreme ,court written explanations and disclosure of voting in cases involving preliminary injunctive relief 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #aee of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #bbhe4 ,written explanations and disclosure of voting in ,supreme ,court cases involving preliminary injunctive relief 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term ,supreme ,court means the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states1 including any individual justice or set of justices when acting on behalf of the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states2 and 7#b7 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 ,court4 7b7 ,requirement 7#a7 ,written explanation and vote disclosure ,in any case within the ,supreme ,court's appellate jurisdiction1 the ,supreme ,court may not issue any order granting1 denying1 or vacating preliminary injunctive relief or granting1 denying1 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 order4 7#b7 ,contents for orders granting1 denying1 or vacating preliminary injunctive relief ,the written explanation required under paragraph 7#a7 for an order granting1 denying1 or vacating preliminary injunctive relief shall include an evaluation of the following criteria3 7,a7 ,whether an applicant seeking preliminary injunctive relief is likely to succeed on the merits4 7,b7 ,whether an applicant seeking preliminary injunctive relief is likely to suffer irreparable harm absent such relief4 7,c7 ,whether the balance of equities tips in the favor of an applicant seeking preliminary injunctive relief4 7,d7 ,whether preliminary injunctive relief is in the public interest4 7#c7 ,contents for orders granting1 denying1 or vacating a stay of preliminary injunctive relief ,the written explanation required under paragraph 7#a7 for an order granting1 denying1 or vacating a stay of preliminary injunctive relief shall include an evaluation of the following criteria3 7,a7 ,whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing of the likelihood of success on the merits4 7,b7 ,whether the stay applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay4 7,c7 ,whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding4 7,d7 ,whether a stay is in the public interest4 7#d7 ,multiple opinions ,the written explanation required under paragraph 7#a7 may be made in #a or more opinions representing a majority of justices participating in a decision1 without regard to whether a majority of the justices participating in a decision publish the same written explanation4 7#e7 ,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 grant1 deny1 or vacate preliminary injunctive relief or grant1 deny1 or vacate a stay of preliminary injunctive relief4 7c7 ,limitations and inclusions ,in implementing this section1 the following shall apply3 7#a7 ,nothing in this section shall be construed to modify the substantive standards applied by any court in deciding any case4 7#b7 ,nothing in this section shall be construed to modify the jurisdiction of the ,supreme ,court under any other law4 7#c7 ,this section shall apply with respect to orders issued in connection with a claim under chapter #e or #g of title #e4 4 7b7 ,conforming amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #aee of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #bbhe4 ,written explanations and disclosure of voting in ,supreme ,court cases involving preliminary injunctive relief4 4 #c4 ,reports 7a7 ,in general ,not later than ,april #a of the first year that begins more than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and ,april #a of every second year thereafter1 the ,director of the ,federal ,judicial ,center shall submit to ,congress a report-- 7#a7 assessing the extent of compliance or noncompliance with the requirements of section #bbhe of title #bh1 ,united ,states ,code1 as added by section #b of this ,act2 and 7#b7 providing any recommendations of the ,director regarding ways to improve compliance with such section #bbhe4 7b7 ,additional time ,for the first report required under subsection 7a71 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 report4 #d4 ,severability ,if any provision of this ,act1 an amendment made by this ,act1 or the application of such a provision or amendment to any particular person or circumstance is held invalid1 the remaining provisions of this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act1 and the application of such remaining provisions and amendments to any other person or circumstance1 shall not be affected thereby4