Supreme Court rushes to end a term like no other

Because of a blockbuster docket, an unprecedented leak, a fraught political atmosphere and Covid, everything has changed at the Supreme Court.

Under normal circumstances on decision days at the end of June, the Supreme Court emerges from behind crimson curtains to finally issue the most controversial cases of the term after months of closed-door deliberations. Wearing their judicial robe and exhausted from the final push of work, the justices take their seats and the majority opinion is read by its author.

The hand-down can take several minutes as the audience of spouses, staff, spectators and journalists digest what’s being read aloud. Often times, the justice who penned the principal dissent, also chooses to address the audience, offering a fiery oral critique of the majority opinion.

None of that is expected to happen this month.

Instead, the courtroom’s majestic chamber is dark – ostensibly due to lingering Covid concerns. The plaza has been completely walled off by security fences, a move prompted by protests that erupted last month after a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked to the media. Meanwhile, a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a California man with attempting to murder Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Now, armed guards are providing 24-hour protection at the justices’ homes while protestors sometimes gather outside and the President has signed legislation to enhance security protection for the justices and their families.

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