Amy Howe

Jun 27 2024

Reading the tea leaves — part 2

As we enter the homestretch of the Supreme Court’s term, the justices have just seven (in all likelihood) opinions to release.

With the announcement of the court’s opinions in SEC v. Jarkesy and Harrington v. Purdue Pharma on Thursday, the justices have now issued all of their opinions from 2023. Only two cases – which are likely to result in just one opinion – remain from January: Loper-Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce, in which the court has been asked to overrule its 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council.

Chief Justice John Roberts seems to be the most likely author of the Chevron cases. He does not yet have an opinion from January and has only four opinions so far this term. (Justice Brett Kavanaugh also does not have a January opinion, but he has three opinions from October through December, which suggests that he is less likely to be the author of the Chevron cases.)

Three cases remain from the court’s February argument session: Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Bank, in which the justices are considering the statute of limitations to bring a lawsuit challenging agency action; and the pair of cases challenging laws in Texas and Florida that would regulate how large social-media companies control the content posted on their sites.

There were 11 cases in February, one of which – the Colorado ballot disqualification case – led to an unsigned opinion. Two justices – Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett – have not yet written an opinion for February.

There are only three cases remaining from the court’s April session: Fischer v. United States, Grants Pass v. Johnson, and Trump v. United States. Three justices – Roberts and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Ketanji Brown Jackson – have not yet released opinions from April.

Three justices are likely finished with majority opinions for the term: Justice Clarence Thomas (who already has seven opinions), Justice Sonia Sotomayor (also seven), and Justice Elena Kagan (six). Kavanaugh also has six opinions and may similarly be finished for the term.

Amy L Howe
Until September 2016, Amy served as the editor and reporter for SCOTUSblog, a blog devoted to coverage of the Supreme Court of the United States; she continues to serve as an independent contractor and reporter for SCOTUSblog. Before turning to full-time blogging, she served as counsel in over two dozen merits cases at the Supreme Court and argued two cases there. From 2004 until 2011, she co-taught Supreme Court litigation at Stanford Law School; from 2005 until 2013, she co-taught a similar class at Harvard Law School. She has also served as an adjunct professor at American University’s Washington College of Law and Vanderbilt Law School. Amy is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a master’s degree in Arab Studies and a law degree from Georgetown University.
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