Supreme Court Stats Show 'Surprising Alliances,' Roberts' Efforts to Unite the Court
At first glance, the statistic shows the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decisions this term were no different than in previous years.
According to the New York Times, “The court was united during the term 44 percent of the time, which is not unusual. But it worked as one in major cases, which is.” The story says the court “sometimes worked with striking unanimity and assertiveness to review the actions of the other branches of government.”
The story quotes former Solicitor General Gregory Garre, who said cases that might have been closely divided ended up being unanimous. “It’s a tribute to the chief justice, and to the whole court,” he said.
The unanimous rulings include:
• A finding that a Lutheran school was protected from a teacher’s retaliation suit under the “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws grounded in the First Amendment’s religion clauses. The case included a concurrence by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. that was joined by Justice Elena Kagan. According to the Times, “Such surprising alliances dotted the docket.”
• A ruling for an Idaho couple challenging a wetlands designation for their property.
• A ruling finding that police installation of a GPS device on a suspect’s car was a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.
• A decision striking down patents on blood test methods because they are based on laws of nature
SCOTUSblog statistics show Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was most often in the majority—93 percent of the time—but Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was just a percentage point behind, the story says.
The Times and the Washington Post cite another SCOTUSblog statistic: Kennedy usually sides with conservatives about two-thirds of the time, but this term he split evenly between liberals and conservatives.
The Post said Roberts’ vote to uphold the health care law was only the second time in his seven years on the court that he provided the winning vote for liberals to prevail. A New York Times graphic published last week said it was the first time Roberts had done so.
