Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Thursday that the Trump administration's frequent use of emergency appeals to the high court was unprecedented in the Supreme Court's history.

Sotomayor made the remarks during a speech at the University of Alabama School of Law, referring to the administration's increased reliance on the court's emergency docket. The emergency docket consists of appeals that seek quick intervention from justices in cases that are still pending in lower courts.

The justice's comments highlight a notable shift in how the executive branch has approached Supreme Court appeals. Emergency appeals bypass the normal appellate process and ask the court to intervene quickly in ongoing litigation.

Sotomayor did not elaborate on specific cases or provide detailed statistics about the volume of emergency appeals during her Thursday remarks. The emergency docket has become an increasingly scrutinized aspect of the Supreme Court's operations in recent years.

The justice's characterization of the Trump administration's approach as unprecedented suggests a significant departure from historical norms in how administrations have utilized this particular avenue for Supreme Court review.