How Federal Courts Are Shaping Democracy

FEDERALISM, SEPARATION OF POWERS AND THE RULE OF LAW—the issues federal courts are grappling with in the United States—are both provocative and polarizing.

As the most consequential cases on immigration, the scope of executive power, abortion, election law, states’ rights and more work their way through the judicial system, any number of mechanisms and lower court judges can influence the ultimate disposition of the issue.

At times, the most significant judicial moves go unnoted by the media and the general public.

THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA’S FEDERAL COURTS SCHOLARS reflect on the trends they are seeing and how the outsized impact of process—from docket management to the issuance of stays—can shape society and the contours of democracy.