Dear Commons Community,

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down major decisions this week on affirmative action, voting rights, and gay rights.  There has been much analysis of each of these decisions.  Linda Greenhouse (author, reporter, and columnist)  in today’s New York Times provides an integrated analysis of all three decisions with some insightful comments about the justices themselves especially John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy.  As an example:

“These have been a remarkable three days, as the Supreme Court finished its term by delivering the only four decisions that most people were waiting for. The 5-to-4 decisions striking down the coverage formula of the Voting Rights Act and the Defense of Marriage Act will go far toward defining the Roberts court, which has concluded its eighth year. Monday’s place-holding ruling on affirmative action in higher education, although it decided very little, is also definitional… There is a great deal to say about each decision, and about how each reflects on the court. My thoughts are preliminary, informed by that phrase in the chief justice’s voting rights opinion: current conditions. “

Worth a read!

Tony