I give a whole lot of thought to timing on the Supreme Court docket. Inside deliberations are normally a black field, until there are some leaks. All we all know for positive is when a case is argued and when it’s determined.
At the moment, the Court docket determined Chiles v. Salazar. This case was argued six months in the past on October 7. The vote was 8-1. Justice Gorsuch wrote the bulk opinion, which was about twenty-pages lengthy. Justice Kagan wrote a brief concurrence, joined by Justice Sotomayor, that was about 4 pages lengthy. Justice Jackson wrote a solo dissent that spanned greater than thirty pages.
Why did this case take six months? It appears fairly clear the bulk opinion coalesced pretty early on. There may be not a lot daylight between the bulk and the concurrence. I’ve to think about that Justice Gorsuch circulated his majority opinion pretty rapidly. There aren’t any footnotes suggesting makes an attempt to switch or water-down the bulk opinion.
What we do not know is how Justice Jackson affected the method. The bulk opinion presents a number of citations to Jackson’s dissent, however there is no such thing as a prolonged back-and-forth. I do not assume there was a lot engagement right here in any respect. Certainly, it’s telling that Justice Kagan felt compelled to reply to Justice Jackson in a footnote.
This opinion additionally makes me take into consideration Calliswhich was argued on October 15. I doubt that case will likely be 8-1. However it might take across the similar time, if not longer.
For individuals who care about such issues, Justice Alito is the one Justice who has not but written a majority opinion from October.
