Just three months ago, the Supreme Court ended its annual term with three of the most explosive cases in recent memory. It almost always ends its year with a bang, having saved its most controversial, deeply divided cases for last.
But this year, the cases decided in late June were even more contentious and politically heated than usual.
First, a six-justice majority, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, affirmed the Obama administration's interpretation of the Affordable Care Act. Justice Antonin Scalia, dissenting from the decision, accused the majority of "rewrit[ing]" the act. He added, "[W]e should start calling this law SCOTUScare."
The next day, a five-justice majority, led by Justice Anthony Kennedy, announced a federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Roberts, this time in dissent, disagreed with the majority's expansive notion of constitutional liberty. "If you are among the many Americans, of whatever sexual orientation, who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today's decision. But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it."
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