Shorthanded High Court Risks Deadlock on Google, Delaware Cases (1)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death leaves the Supreme Court shorthanded heading into a new term with Obamacare and a blockbuster copyright case involving Google in early argument sessions, and more election-related matters likely to come.

Conservatives now hold a 5-3 majority on what’s usually a nine member court, although the justices don’t always stay in their lanes.

The possibility of evenly split decisions could complicate last-minute election-related challenges and potentially lead to further delay in cases already postponed due to the pandemic. There are two business cases in the new term’s first three days—Carney v. Adams, which has implications ...