The U.S. Supreme Court, already four months into a term that runs through June, has not issued an opinion in an argued case yet, according to BNN Bloomberg.
The silence from the court is record-setting.
"For all intents and purposes, this is the longest it's ever been by quite a large margin," said Adam Feldman, who runs the EmpiricalSCOTUS.com website. "It's really bizarre that they haven't released one at all."
The justices returned from a four-week recess this week, but the delay in issuing an opinion already had been record-setting before they left.
It all but certain sets up a potentially explosive end of term for the high court since pending cases include affirmative action, election law, and social media and student loans, BNN Bloomberg said.
Justices are expected to issue about 60 decisions before their term ends.
The next ruling by the court will be the first since justices ended their last term that included a decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion as well as the unprecedented leak of that opinion.
The controversy over the leak could be one reason for the current delays. BNN Bloomberg said.
Chief Justice John Roberts launched an internal investigation in May, but hasn't announced any findings.
"It's possible that any new protocols implemented in the wake of last year's leak may have slowed things down," said Greg Garre, the former U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush.
And Feldman noted: "The leak I think makes justices more apprehensive about releasing and sharing opinions with each other. And if the process of sharing information between the chambers is really slowed down because of the apprehension of possible leaks, then it creates a clog in the system."
According to a Washington Times report in late December, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, fully intends to probe the origins of the Supreme Court leak.
"Dozens and dozens of churches were attacked, dozens and dozens of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers were attacked, protests occurred at Supreme Court justices' homes, and there was an assassination attempt on Justice [Brett] Kavanaugh," said Jordan.
Garre also speculated that the absence of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may also be contributing to the delays. Ginsburg "seemed to relish being first out of the box with decisions," Garre said.
Either way, some decisions are anticipated to come soon.
"I expect we'll see some opinions soon," Garre said. "And it's still fairly early in the term, so the court has time to catch up."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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