Opinion: A pair of surprises from Amy Coney Barrett

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Opinion: A pair of surprises from Amy Coney Barrett

Opinion by Ruth Marcus
Deputy editorial page editor
June 18, 2021 at 4:35 p.m. EDT

Two of the biggest cases before the Supreme Court this term had also been languishing the longest on the court’s docket before they were finally decided on Thursday. The justices swatted down a third — and presumably final — attack against the Affordable Care Act. Then, they said the city of Philadelphia couldn’t exclude a Catholic social services agency from certifying potential foster parents because the group said its religious beliefs wouldn’t allow it to assess same-sex couples.

The court’s delay in issuing opinions — both cases were argued in November — conjured understandable fears of dueling, angry and fractured opinions. Justices’ tempers can be short at the end of a term, but some particularly sharp sniping between two liberals, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, and conservative Brett M. Kavanaugh, added further to the suggestion that something momentous was afoot behind the scenes.

Instead, both cases were decided on narrow grounds and with solid majorities. In the Affordable Care Act case, the court, ruling 7 to 2, found that those challenging the law hadn’t been injured and therefore didn’t have standing to sue. In the foster parents case, the court was unanimous in concluding that Philadelphia had violated the religious rights of the Catholic group, but six justices (three liberal, three conservative) declined to take the additional step of overruling a controversial precedent.

{snip}

I may not have much occasion to say this, but here goes: Good for you, Justice Barrett.

Opinion by Ruth Marcus
Ruth Marcus is deputy editorial page editor for The Post. She also writes a weekly column. Twitter https://twitter.com/RuthMarcus

[secondwind]

1. Indeed!

I think there were some DUers who interpreted the Philadelphia decision incorrectly, and were disappointed.

I hope they see this post!