Court watchers on the left are bracing for ideological opinions by the Supreme Court’s fortified conservative majority, but this term the liberal justices have gained the vote of one of their more conservative colleagues for victories in several closely divided cases.
In the penultimate round of opinions June 26, both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch crossed over to give the Democratic-appointees wins in two cases that split the justices 5-4—a sentencing dispute, and a case challenging a longstanding administrative law doctrine.
It was the second time the chief justice did so this term. It was the fourth ...