A Romney Win Will Be An OH NO For SCOTUS
Court's Recent Rulings Shake Up Partisan Narrative
June 29, 2012It's a bit less likely now than a week ago that you'll hear people accuse the Supreme Court of being politicized.That's because this week, the court ended its session with two controversial decisions — neither one of which was decided on the usual and predictable split between the five justices appointed by Republican presidents and the four appointed by Democrats.But that doesn't make the court any less of a political animal.Complaints about "activist courts" are common — and that phrase is easy to define, says Jeffrey Segal, a Stony Brook University professor. "Activism is a decision that people don't like."A partisan court is a little different."Political polarization means that, by and large, the center is disappearing," Segal says.There was a time when justices appointed by Democrats and Republicans intermingled in their judicial decisions. Ideological lines were murkier, and it was harder to predict who would fall where in a split decision. The last two justices who retired, David Souter and John Paul Stevens, were both Republican appointees who usually voted with the court's liberals.Since they left, the court has settled into a partisan pattern of 5 to 4. MORE HERE http://www.npr.org/2012/06/29/155985744/courts-recent-rulings-shake-up-partisan-narrative
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