Shakespeare Debate Splits Supreme Court

Justices will hand down 26 of the most contentious opinions beginning today

(NEWSER) - The Supreme Court is poised to begin unveiling decisions today in some of the year's most heated cases, reports USA Today. As the term winds down, the 26 final opinions will be released on select days in June, and include clashes over Guantanamo detainees, DC's handgun ban, and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. More»

Obama too timid on federal nominees, with big issues coming

(NEWSER) - With big issues working their way toward the Supreme Court on such vital issues as health care reform, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and police stops of undocumented immigrants, liberals need to be on guard, writes longtime court-watcher Emily Bazelon for the New York Times . Sure, there are solid progressives, such as Obama appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. But frequent swing vote Anthony Kennedy, while he may side with liberals on occasion, has a voting record on par with Ronald Reagan. More»

Expect a fierce battle for liberal justice's replacement

(NEWSER) - What will John Paul Stevens’ retirement mean for the Supreme Court? Here are three early thoughts on what comes next:

• Expect the tea partiers to get extremely riled up over whoever President Obama nominates, writes Chris Good of the Atlantic . They have a “very strict (one could almost say fundamentalist)” take on the Constitution, and they’re itching for a post-health care fight.

Departure of senior liberal justice will shift the balance of power

(NEWSER) - John Paul Stevens will probably retire from the Supreme Court this summer, leaving an opening for President Obama to fill. In the broadest sense, Obama's pick will change little: The president will probably choose a justice who will side with the court's liberals. But the new face will not be a replacement for Stevens, who has been the senior liberal justice for 16 years and is a master of using his opinion-assignment authority to influence outcomes. More»

89-year-old gives impassioned opinion but sounds weary

(NEWSER) - Justice John Paul Stevens railed against the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning decades of campaign finance reform, invoking the names of such revered justices as Sandra Day O’Connor, Thurgood Marshall, and Byron White. In giving the minority opinion yesterday, Stevens spoke for 20 minutes, twice as long as Anthony Kennedy did for the majority, and spoke with considerably "more passion—and more weariness," writes Joan Biskupic at USA Today . More»