The current Supreme Court term could be the most liberal since 1969

The John Roberts court could have the most liberal term since 1968

(Image credit: Charles Dharapak-Pool/Getty Images)

published 23 June 2015

The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is undeniably a conservative court. "But even conservative courts have liberal terms — and the current term is leaning left as it enters its final two weeks," say Alicia Parlapiano, Adam Liptak, and Jeremy Bowers in a New York Times analysis. There are seven cases left in the current term, but as of June 22, 54 percent of the decisions have skewed liberal.

Of course, the Roberts court has also delivered the most conservative term since the 1950s, in 2008, and has handed down conservative victories on campaign finance, gun rights, and abortion. But since 2008, rulings on the environment, health care, and gay rights have drawn the Roberts court in a liberal direction, according to the Times analysis. If the court kneecaps ObamaCare or rules against gay marriage in its final seven rulings, it probably won't be remembered as a liberal term, but "a look at some of the Supreme Court's biggest cases suggests that overall trends are only sometimes good indicators of individual results," The Times notes. For more details and context, visit The New York Times.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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