DOMA unconstitutional (5-4); Court punts on gay marriage (no standing)

Re: DOMA unconstitutional (5-4)

But settle in, apparently. Scalia's pissed and going to talk for a while.

 

Re: DOMA unconstitutional (5-4)

These 5-4 decisions aren't good. Brown vs. Board of Education sent a message because it was unanimous. These split decisions just provide fodder for those who love to stir up the notion we are in the middle of a "culture war."

 

Re: DOMA unconstitutional (5-4)

5-4 isn't terrible, though not great, either. 5-4 along the standard ideological lines with Kennedy deciding is terrible. That's why it was so vital that Roberts was the key vote in Obamacare. Legitimized the opinion. Remember the GOP line of attack afterward? They didn't go after the Court. They went after Obama for passing a tax. Roberts insulated the Court.

 

Re: DOMA unconstitutional (5-4)

I don't care. Five-four is a great outcome when you're expecting a punt.

 

Re: DOMA unconstitutional (5-4)

I remember plenty of attacks on Roberts after the Obamacare decision. Traitor, sellout, blackmail victim.

 

Re: DOMA unconstitutional (5-4)

Five-four is the standard for big decisions these days and as we learned in Bush v. Gore, they count just as much as unanimous ones.

 

Re: DOMA unconstitutional (5-4)

From the conservative press. Not so much from the Senate.

 

Weird majority:

Majority is Roberts with Scalia, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan.

 

There is no constitutional right for same-sex couples to be allowed to marry. The Court didn't change anything on that.

In reality, the Court reaffirmed states' rights. Seems if conservatives for states' rights should be pleased with the Court for upholding that principle.

 

It's a very odd majority... Scalia and Roberts on the "liberal" side of things; Kennedy, Sotomayer on the "conservative" side.

 

It depends what they say, though. I suspect that Sotomayor will have a different grounds for dissent than Thomas and Alito. Thomas and Alito probably wanted Prop 8 upheld. Sotomayor wanted it invalidated. But they all think the Court could have taken the case.

Roberts loves to get rid of cases via standing technicalities. Loooooves it.