Suddenly, we have a liberal SCOTUS ???

Very interesting analysis of this year's Supreme Court decisions and how this conservative court suddenly is being called "liberal" by New York Times writer Adam Liptak.   Here are some excerpts and summaries:

"The stunning series of liberal decisions delivered by the Supreme Court this term was the product of discipline on the left side of the court and disarray on the right.

"In case after case, including blockbusters on same-sex marriage and President Obama's health care law, the court’s four-member liberal wing, all appointed by Democratic presidents, managed to pick off one or more votes from the court’s five conservative justices, all appointed by Republicans. . . . "

Liptak then quotes University of Chicago law professor Eric Posner:

“The most interesting thing about this term is the acceleration of a long-term trend of disagreement among the Republican-appointed judges, while the Democratic-appointed judges continue to march in lock step."

Liptak credits the leadership of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with the leveraging of the four liberal votes.   She was quoted from an interview last year as saying, “We have made a concerted effort to speak with one voice in important cases."

In contrast, conservatives couldn't agree and often wrote separate opinions, even when they favored the same outcome.   The three more conservative justices (Scalia, Thomas, Alito) often try to move the court further to the right than Roberts and Kennedy will go along with.  Thus they have a harder time tailoring an opinion that they can all agree on in order to reach the majority on a given case.

Professor Posner was quoted again, saying that “Kennedy, Roberts and Alito’s pragmatism contrasts with the formalism of Scalia and Thomas . . .”    Law Professor Lee Epstein of Washington University of St. Louis, says: "The Republicans can’t seem to agree even when they agree.” 

As Liptak points out, it's hard to call this court liberal when it just this week voted against death row inmates in a case involving the death penalty and against Obama on environmental regulations.   What does stand out, Liptak says, is that the Supreme Court has proved to be more of an ally with President Obama than has Congress.

And then there's the opinion of Lisa S. Blatt, an experienced lawyer who has argued more than 30 cases before the Supreme Court and studied its voting patterns:  “This term feels just huge.  It's clearly the most liberal term I’ve seen since I’ve been watching the court.” 

Warning that "This term may have been an anomaly, and the next one may shift back to the right," Liptak notes that they have already agreed to hear cases next term on affirmative action and are likely to hear a major case on abortion.   Nevertheless, analysis of decisions shows that the current court is less business-friendly than is generally assumed, having given several "substantial losses" to the business community.

We shall see.   This all adds to my admiration for Justice Ginsburg's decision not to step down so that President Obama could name her replacement.   As she told Diane Sawyer in her interview, the current senate would not confirm any nominee nearly as liberal as she is.   And now we can add to that her leadership role and strategy in presenting a united liberal front in the behind-the-scenes negotiations that result in being able to get Kennedy or Roberts to join a decision and get a majority on a given case.

So a lot depends on the continuing health and stamina of Justice Ginsburg -- and on the election of a Democratic president and senate to nominate and confirm her successor.

Viva la RBG !!!

Ralph