text: The consent decree can impact those outside of the parties, who resolve their disputes with a consent decree, especially in settling institutional reform and antitrust cases. From Rufo v. Inmates of the Suffolk County Jail and Swift & Co. v. United States, the Supreme Court acknowledges that "the effects of the decree on third parties and the public interest should be taken into account when determining whether or not a change in fact warrants ... the decree". There is criticism that "the antitrust consent decree is an opaque form of government regulation that operates without many of the checks and balances that constrain and shape ordinary regulatory programs". So, some argue that the use of consent decrees in antitrust cases and with public institutions can negatively affect third parties and public interests.
  Consent decree in popular media
  Consent decrees have appeared in various forms of popular media, often as plot devices to explore legal and political themes.
  In the 2024 TV series Elsbeth, starring Carrie Preston, the intricacies of consent decrees are highlighted. The show, a spinoff of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, follows the lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni as she follows the NYPD where she is assigned to oversee a monitorship or consent decree after some controversial arrests.