"Kelsey Dallas, the managing editor for SCOTUSblog, examines this phenomenon in a recent article. She reports that over the past six months, more than half (16) of the high court's decisions on the 26 applications tracked by SCOTUSblog were released on a Thursday or a Friday, and nearly all of them (22) were released in the afternoon. Twice as many orders were released after 4 p.m. (Eastern time) than were released before noon."
"Dallas found that the Supreme Court's inclination toward late afternoon releases became even more pronounced when she limited her analysis to the 17 applications that were addressed by the full court, rather than a single justice. The orders in eight of these cases were released after 4 p.m., and just two were released in the morning. Eleven came on a Thursday or a Friday."
"Dallas said this is significant because "public engagement with the Supreme Court matters, and public engagement is dulled when decisions come late in the day and late in the week. Whether intentionally or not, the court regularly releases significant orders at exactly the time when they're most likely to get lost in the news cycle.""
Over the past six months, more than half (16) of 26 tracked applications had orders released on a Thursday or Friday. Nearly all orders (22) were released in the afternoon, with twice as many released after 4 p.m. Eastern as before noon. Limiting to 17 applications addressed by the full court, eight orders arrived after 4 p.m., two in the morning, and eleven on a Thursday or Friday. Late afternoon and late-week releases reduce public engagement by increasing the likelihood that significant orders will be overlooked in the news cycle.
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