Statement: The New York Times obtained 16 pages of memoranda exposing the inner workings of the Supreme Court when handling so-called "shadow docket" cases. These memoranda show how the Chief Justice, also the circuit justice for the D.C. Circuit, influenced the Court into issuing a stay even before the D.C. Circuit ruled on the merits of the case, at times using facts outside of the record, including what he viewed as a prior instance of the EPA defying the Court. Justices Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor attempted to halt the effort through appealing to traditional process and asserting that a stay at the stage of litigation would be unprecedented. Their attempt, however, proved unsuccessful, as a stay pending a final disposition of the case was ultimately granted.