#SCOTUS is “…far behind in issuing rulings for cases heard since the start of the term in Oct. The #court has announced just 5 decisions, leaving 92% of cases to be resolved b4 the term ends in late Jun or early Jul.
“…the court’s backlog represents the slowest pace of any term in the tenure of CJ #JohnRoberts. By Mar1 of the ‘05 term, the court had issued rulings in >⅓ of its cases. That dropped to 21% by this point in the ‘20 term. This yr, it is at 8%.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/03/supreme-court-trump-history-backlog/
“Some noted the absence on the bench of Justice #RuthBaderGinsburg (#RBG), who was always determined to get her opinions out quickly & set the pace by issuing the first opinion of the term.
“It is likely that the justices have completed majority opinions in more cases argued early in the term than they have announced so far. But they cannot release those rulings until their *colleagues* complete both dissenting opinions & concurrences…
“Back in the fall, it seemed the most significant cases on the court’s calendar would be a trio of challenges to the power of the administrative state & a pair of #FirstAmendment cases targeting #laws in TX & FL that control how major #socialmedia platforms curate #content. Since then, #Trump’s #legal & #political troubles have seemingly overwhelmed the docket.”
#law #SCOTUS #ActivistCourt #PartisanCourt #TrumpDelayEnablers
“‘That was then, this is now — & now it’s Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump,’ said Pamela Karlan, a Stanford #law prof & co-dir of the school’s #SCOTUS #Litigation Clinic.
“In Jan, the justices agreed to decide whether states can #disqualify #Trump from the #ballot for…the #Jan6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The court quickly held argument 5wks later, w/a majority… appearing poised to prevent CO from barring Trump from holding office. But they have not announced their decision.”
@Nonilex I think a real takeaway from all of this is a lesson about the judicial branch's role in current events, that it's not like either of the other two branches which are better poised to act in a timely manner to address concerns people today are having.
The judicial branch is supposed to be one that takes its time and issues rulings that stretch out into the future, particularly when it comes to appellate decisions on fundamental matters of law.
In particular, when it comes to #Trump, this is why his team was so out of touch when they tried to put immediate election questions in front of courts. They went to the wrong branch of government with their concerns. Courts are not set up to deal with the sort of complaints that Trump had.
It is really key that the court will take its time to draft solid rulings without the pressure of time lines. That is its role in the US system. So this is functioning as it is supposed to, and we should not complain too much about it.
