Yesterday was a terrible day for democracy. A Supreme Court that has repeatedly broken its promises did so again. A Court that has claimed to simply call balls and strikes put on a uniform and grabbed a bat. Most disturbingly, once again, minority voters were the victims of a Court that has clearly moved from right of center to far right.

I had originally planned to write about the Supreme Court’s latest outrageous use of the shadow docket to dismiss my law firm’s challenge to Texas’ gerrymandered congressional maps. The Court's disposal of the case on Monday, without full briefing or argument, was a new low. 

But then yesterday, the Supreme Court dropped its decision to gut the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais, and it became clear just how much lower this Court is capable of going. While I was not surprised that the Court ruled against the VRA, I was still shaken by how cynical and disingenuous the opinion was.

If the Court had simply struck down the VRA as unconstitutional, it would at least have been honest about its intentions. Instead, under the guise of upholding the Act, the Court gutted it. Rather than serving as a safeguard to protect minority voters, the Court transformed the VRA into a tool of partisan gerrymandering.

The timing of this decision was not lost on me. 

A Court that routinely chastises lower courts for ruling in favor of voting rights too close to elections gutted the key protection for minority voters while primaries are underway. The same Court that blocked a new pro-minority map in Louisiana in 2022 because it was too close to the election has now greenlit Louisiana to change its districts after ballots have already been cast.

But the fallout does not end in Louisiana.

Just one hour after the Supreme Court’s opinion dropped, the Florida legislature rubber-stamped DeSantis’ absurdly gerrymandered and patently illegal new map. Undeterred by a state constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering, DeSantis persuaded his legislature to do exactly that.

I have already announced I will sue Florida as soon as DeSantis signs this bill, but emboldened by the Court, he isn't worried about the law or the state constitution. He is betting he can run out the clock and that the state Supreme Court will do his bidding. 

I know that I am not alone in my worry. In the past 24 hours, I have been inundated with calls and texts from people concerned about the future. Anxiety about the Supreme Court and the erosion of democratic guardrails is nothing new — but people can sense that something has shifted.

The Supreme Court has only started releasing its most important cases of the term. Between now and the end of the term in June, they will rule on two cases I am personally involved in — a critical mail-in voting law and a pillar of the campaign finance system. Then there is the birthright citizenship case.

I can sense people’s stress level is rising even as their expectations are lowering. Cases that once seemed like clear wins now worry them. The tougher ones inspired feelings of deep dread. 

Every lawsuit now feels existential. I realize that many of you are hanging on every motion and decision. We obsess over every loss and worry that every victory might lead to a reversal on appeal. 

A friend recently observed that it seems like I need to win everything to protect democracy, while Republicans only need to win something to destroy it. That has stuck with me because I sometimes feel that too.

In my rational moments, I know that it’s too simplistic — some cases matter more than others, and no single loss would spell total defeat. But to be honest, my friend captured something real: the asymmetry of this fight. 

Trump wants us always playing defense, always one decision away from a new crisis. The Supreme Court reinforces how tenuous our victories in the fight for democracy really are.

Despite those feelings, I know that we must set them aside. I often say that Donald Trump wants us to lose hope. He wants us so overwhelmed by all the terrible things he is doing that we tune out and give up.

Not succumbing to that is easier said than done. If I had been able to follow my own advice today, I would have shaken off the defeats of yesterday. You'd be reading about the shadow docket right now. But I haven’t, and you are not.

I know that this feeling of despair will pass. To do my job, I need to move forward and jump back into the fight. I have no other choice. I have clients who are depending on me. I have cases that need to be litigated. I cannot let Trump win.

To my surprise, in moments like this, I have found solace by being in community with others. I didn't build Democracy Docket to be a community — yet that is what it has become for me and, I hope, for you.

Each day, we receive hundreds of messages — by email, on social media, on our member community page. I can't read all of them, but I read as many as I can. The words of encouragement and the ideas for how to keep fighting help fuel my drive and determination.

This week has been hard for me. Yet, knowing that you are feeling the same way and are still in the fight has made a big difference.

On Saturday, you'll get the shadow docket piece. It will be worth the wait.

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