The Supreme Court Would Prefer Not To
A 1960s novelty toy consisted of a small plastic box with a jointed lid and a switch. When the switch was turned on, a hand emerged, grabbed the switch and turned it off, then retreated back into the box.
Big fun.
The Supreme Court’s October 2017 term, which will lurch to its end next week, has, to a surprising extent, come to seem like that novelty toy. Though last October promised a crop of blockbusters, the Court so far has taken every possible opportunity to avoid important decisions.
On Monday, the Court bailed out of the high-profile Wisconsin gerrymandering case on highly technical grounds. But is not the only major case the Court has ducked; indeed, it is not the only major case the Court ducked during that very half-hour session Monday. The justices also artfully dodged a companion gerrymandering case from Maryland, and delivered a narrow, and perhaps temporary, win
