Inside the Supreme Court these days

Bloomberg is reporting that the Roberts Court is a divided one, which begs the question of what’s new about that and whether the ideologies that divide it are given new gravity by Court watchers.

Recent rulings on abortion, job discrimination and the death penalty have highlighted the schism, marking victories for the court’s conservatives and leaving its liberals to air their frustrations in dissent.

This is new. And it’s the reason the media are giving it more attention. It’s interesting that decisions – and reporting on them – have “highlighted the schism”, given Roberts unusually strong presence as a unifying Chief Justice.

Roberts, 52, has made consensus a top goal since he took the oath of office in September 2005. Speaking at Georgetown University’s law-school graduation last year, he said that “the rule of law is strengthened when there is greater consensus and agreement about what the law is.”.

That is very instructive. Roberts brings a new focus on the rule of law and the strength of pure argument. Heading further into the presidential elections, it’s important to keep in mind that one of the key reasons to elect a particular president is his or her power to place justices on the Supreme Court.