Are Solo Dissents in Vogue at the Supreme Court?
The blog that chronicles U.S. Supreme Court action is noticing a recent surge in solo dissents.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued four opinions on Tuesday, all of them decided by an 8-1 vote. Justice Antonin Scalia dissented in one opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas dissented in another, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented in two cases.
SCOTUSblog noted the solo dissents and said they are relatively rare. “Justice Stevens used to say that it was sometimes important to have a dissent to keep the majority honest,” the blog says. “I wonder if maybe Justice Ginsburg might be taking up that role a bit, now that Justice Stevens has retired.”
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued another 8-1 ruling finding no due-process right to a pretrial hearing to assess the reliability of an eyewitness ID. This time, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the only dissenter. Two other decisions issued Tuesday were unanimous.
