RIP Antonin Scalia

Yes, they lean liberal, not unlike the way Roberts, Alito and Thomas consistently lean right.

 

Right, but they are more consistent. Do they ever surprise? Ever?

They may go against the administration, but when they do, it's because the administration's case is so weak, we get a 9-0, or maybe an 8-1.

On civil liberties and free speech, Scalia (and in some cases Thomas) would vote often vote with the liberals. Kennedy is a swing vote. O'Connor was a swing vote.

Roberts sided with the liberals on Obamacare. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion on same sex marriage, voting with the Court's four liberals.

When's the last time a liberal was the swing vote on a 5-4 case?

 

There hasn't been a majority of Dem nominees on the court since 1971.

 

DirecTV v. Imburgia.

Last term.

BREYER, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and SCALIA, KENNEDY, ALITO, and KAGAN, JJ., joined. THOMAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion. GINSBURG, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which SOTOMAYOR, J., joined.

That took 30 seconds.

 

Right. But, Kennedy and O'Connor vote with the liberals a lot. All it would take was one liberal voting with the rest of the conservatives to end up with a 5-4 vote with one liberal, and four conservatives.

But, we never get that. Ever.

 

That's because conservative positions are stupid and liberals all know that.

 

They seem all over the map on that one.

What was the case? Was it overtly political, where ideological lines could be assumed?

 

Kansas v. Carr


SCALIA, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS,

C. J., and KENNEDY, THOMAS, GINSBURG, BREYER, ALITO, and KAGAN, JJ., joined. SOTOMAYOR, J., filed a dissenting opinion.

 

That's 8-1!

 

It's not a liberal or conservative thing necessarily -- or rather, it's both. We all know the biggies go in 4-4 and Anthony Kennedy decides the fate of the country.

 

Yeah, there are usually a handful of big, political cases, where we might expect a 5-4 ruling, with Kennedy being the swing vote.

Replace Scalia with a liberal, like those already on the court, and Kennedy becomes irrelevant.

The DirectTV case Dick mentioned does not appear to be one that would fall along clear political lines.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if they did. As Baron noted in his post uptopic, this Congress lives to criticize Obama. It also has a habit of taking its ball and going home when it's doesn't get it's way, like in all the government shutdowns, or the constant tilting at windmills that are the votes to repeal Obamacare. Yet I struggle to think of any significant legislation it has drafted and passed.

The stakes are much higher this time, though, and it's a much bigger stage.