After a 'kumbaya' SCOTUS term, unanimous decisions decline
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued unanimous decisions in only 44 percent of its decisions so far this term, a percentage that is more typically found at the end of June after the court issues some of its most high-profile and often divided decisions.
Last term the court displayed a high degree of unanimity, deciding two-thirds of its cases in unanimous votes, USA Today reports, relying on numbers compiled by SCOTUSblog. “While last year’s kumbaya term was the exception,” USA Today says, “the court usually rules unanimously more than 50 percent of the time in the first half of a term.”
In the most closely divided cases this term, the court split 5-4 in allowing a redistricting challenge, upholding a ban on solicitation of campaign contributions by judicial candidates, and finding an evidence-destruction law does not apply to an attempt to hide undersized fish.
In other cases decided this term, the court split 6-3 in seven cases, 7-2 in five cases, and 8-1 in one case.
