However much truth there was in the oft-uttered phrase “hopelessly divided Supreme Court,” it was not the case this term. SCOTUSblog’s indispensable Stat Pack tells the story:
– 59% of the decisions were 9-0, well above the five-year average of 49% but below the 66% in the 2013 term.
– There were only seven 5-4 decisions, and only two of those reflected the now-traditional five-member conservative bloc voting together. Four of the seven featured the five-justice alignment of Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan.
– Gorsuch immediately found a friend and an ideological opponent on the court: He agreed with Thomas in 100% of decisions and disagreed with Sotomayor 41% of the time.

Categories: The Law