Note that the SCOTUS ruling came down just before Rev. Clementa Pinckney's funeral

[KamaAina]

in Charleston.

And if you're tempted to dismiss that as mere coincidence, sit back and watch many of the same people who have been wrapping themselves in the Dixie Swastika all week yell and scream about how this means the end of 'Murka.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. I actually did notice it.

I thought it odd as soon as I heard that they'd added today as a day to announce rulings, as opposed to announcing this Monday.

A great outcome to the case, but I did wonder if the timing was used politically, to cause some people to be celebrating while others are still deeply in mourning.

[HassleCat]

2. I think it is coincidence

A happy coincidence, as far as I can see, but I don't think the Supremes manipulate their calendar to account for public events or competing news stories, etc.

[KamaAina]

4. I was not suggesting that

although Erich did upthread.

I was merely pointing out that the two are in many ways inextricably linked. Cf. Loving v. Virginia.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

5. I'm highly cynical.

Whenever somebody does something unusual, I immediately ask myself 'Who benefits, and how?'

When it's someone in politics, I assume there was a conscious reason and try to figure out what it might be. And CJ Roberts never seems to simply let a win be a win, but always seems to throw in some little backhander. Setting up a situation in which members of the Democratic coalition would subconsciously feel that other members were 'behaving inappropriately' (celebrating instead of mourning, or mourning instead of celebrating) seems to be the sort of sly wedge he might try to arrange if he could. And it's subtle enough that he can just claim coincidence...