Earlier this week, I wrote about Joan Biskupic's first article on her new book. Her exclusives were barely there. Biskupic's second article, however, breaks some news. Now, these reveals are a bit dated, but they do shed some light on the Chief Justice.
Let's flash back to 2017 when two cases that concerned gay rights reached the Court's docket. First, Masterpiece Cakeshop was distributed for the January 13, 2017 conference. Second, Pavan v. Smith was distributed for conference on May 2, 2017. Both cases, however, would linger in docket purgatory for some time. In Masterpiece, the Court requested the record, then rescheduled the case, and then distributed the petition for fifteen consecutive conferences. Finally, on June 26, 2017, the Court granted the petition. That was the same day the Court handed down all of its remaining opinions, including Trinity Lutheran and Hernandez v. Mesa. And on that same day, the Court (per curiam) granted review in the travel ban cases, and stayed the lower court injunctions. Pavan v. Smith also lingered on the Court's docket for some time. The Court also requested the record here, and then distributed the petition for four consecutive conferences. And, on June 26, 2017, the Court GVR'd the Arkansas Supreme Court.
There was special significance to this date. Justice Powell announced his retirement on June 26, 1987; Lawrence v. Texas was decided on June 26, 2003; United States v. Windsor was decided on June 26, 2013; and Obergefell v. Hodges was decided on June 26, 2015. I've called June 26th St. Anthony's day. (On June 25th, 2017, I asked on my blog, "What will happen on June 26, 2017?").
