Supreme Court dynamic changes with Scalia's death
The Feb. 13 death of Justice Antonin Scalia has created the possibility of a record number of tie votes in the U.S. Supreme Court this term, but it’s not the only change his absence has created.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s docket appears “poised to shrink even further,” and its oral arguments “have been somewhat wan and tepid,” the New York Times reports in a Sidebar column.
Last month the court split 4-4 in two cases, including a major case challenging mandatory union dues for public employees. The last time a term included more than two tie votes was in 1990, according to University of Denver law professor Justin Pidot. With 50 cases left on the docket, the court could set a record for most tie votes, he told the New York Times.
Also in March, the Supreme Court granted cert in just two new cases, and “neither qualified as a blockbuster,” the Times says. In March of 2015, the court granted cert in nine cases, including important cases on the death penalty and life sentences for juvenile offenders.
Scalia was known for his quips during oral arguments, according to Boston University law professor Jay Wexler, described by the Times as “a leading authority on Supreme Court humor.” Since Scalia’s death, Justice Stephen G. Breyer is getting the most laughs, but his humor is based more on his “long, circuitous hypotheticals” than on quips.
Scalia’s absence has also given other justices a chance to do more talking, according to Adam Feldman, a doctoral candidate who analyzes Supreme Court transcripts. Now Justice Sonia Sotomayor “has usurped Justice Scalia’s spot taking the most turns talking,” Feldman told the Times.
Scalia’s death has also had an effect on conservative justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas. According to the Times, they have “started to cement an extraordinary bond, staking out positions to the right of the rest in a remarkable series of two-man opinions.”
Related articles:
ABA Journal: “Bryan Garner’s tribute to his friend and co-author Antonin Scalia”
ABA Journal: “After Scalia: The Supreme Court goes back to work amid uncertainty”
