How GOP Judges Teed Up 4th Circ.'s Supreme Court Shutout
July 22, 2025
The Supreme Court just overturned every Fourth Circuit decision it reviewed this term—a rare 0-9 shutout. What’s driving this dramatic shift? As Foley Hoag Appellate Practice Co-Chair Beth C. Neitzel puts it: “This is an incredibly activist court, intervening in case after case through its shadow docket. And on its merits docket, the traditional criteria for certiorari are, in many instances, no longer relevant; review is granted, and the lower court decision is overturned, because the court’s right-wing majority doesn’t like it. Period.” The ideological divide between the circuits and the Supreme Court has never been more stark.
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