Name: Recapping U.S. Supreme Courts biggest 2025 decisions
Uploaded: 2025-12-16T00:55:21.988Z
Duration: 3 min 15 s
Description: The Supreme Court heard cases and handed down rulings in 2025 that changed the fabric of the U.S. government. CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson joins to recap some of the most important decisions.

The Supreme Court heard cases and handed down rulings in 2025 that changed the fabric of the U.S. government. CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson joins to recap some of the most important decisions.

Washington

The U.S. Supreme Court issued 67 opinions in 2025, addressing major legal questions such as the limits of nationwide injunctions, state restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and parental rights to opt children out of certain educational materials. One notable decision clarified that a single district court judge cannot block an executive order nationwide, impacting how federal challenges to executive actions are handled.

The Court also saw a significant increase in emergency or 'shadow docket' cases, many involving requests for interim relief by the Trump administration after losses in lower courts. These shadow docket actions have influenced a wide range of issues, including immigration, federal employment, and law enforcement practices, with further consequential decisions expected in 2026.

Recapping U.S. Supreme Court's biggest 2025 decisions

As we count down to the new year every day this week, we'll take a look back at some of the major stories that drove the news cycle in 2025. And we're gonna begin with the Supreme Court. CBS News Legal Contributor and Loyola Law School Professor Jessica Levinson joins me now. So Jessica, the court issued some 67 opinions this term from universal injunctions to restrictions on youth access to gender affirming care, the question of state authority and environmental regulation, religion and charter schools. What stood out to you? I think those four really stood out to me. So when we think about the last year of the Supreme Court in terms of the merits docket, I think we have to mention that big case dealing with not really birthright citizenship, but actually nationwide injunctions. The question of what remedy can a federal judge give when people challenge an executive order? And the Supreme Court said the remedy cannot be that a single district court judge can say that the executive order cannot be applied anywhere in the country. That's a big case because it deals with essentially every area where an executive order could touch it and that executive order could be challenged. Then, as you mentioned, Lindsey, obviously big cases dealing with transgender rights, that Scarametti case where there was a state that essentially prohibited certain puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender youth. That's coming up again, a different iteration of that case but same issues coming up again before the court this term. Big cases last term dealing with the First Amendment. There was another case, just to wrap this up, dealing with parents' ability to tell a public school that they must be able to opt their children out of certain educational materials, including those involving LGBT families and transgender people. And Jessica, we also saw an unprecedented emergency or shadow docket. It feels like now a lot of those cases haven't dealt with the merits. Does that mean then that you are watching for some of the most consequential decisions of the things that you and I have been discussing all year in the first half of 2026? Absolutely. So the shadow docket, I mean, that is really the big story is that the shadow docket used to largely be about death penalty cases and now it's just gone like this in terms of the number of cases that have been appealed to the Supreme Court and therefore the number of interim decisions. When it comes to the shadow docket, I think what's important for people to know is this is largely the Trump administration when they lose below, picking which cases to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court and then asking the court, just pause what the judges in the lower court decisions, a district court judge or a court of appeals judge did below while this case plays out. So these aren't final orders, but Lindsey, as you know, they've touched every issue involving immigration, the ability of the Trump administration to fire federal workers, to cut off federal funding, the ability of ICE agents to stop and detain people based on factors like color of your skin, where you are, the language you speak. I mean, the shadow docket has been incredibly active over the last year. Jessica Levinson, thank you so much.

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Breakdown