Conservative Justices Bemoan Court's Future [View all]

[Renew Deal]

Even after all of the opinions had been handed down, the Supreme Court term ended with yet another rebuke by the court's conservatives, having been deserted by their sometimes-ally Justice Anthony Kennedy in another politically charged case. Led by Justice Samuel Alito, the right-leaning justices repeatedly sounded a dark note about the court's future.

Kennedy, who this week was the deciding vote in leading the court to definitively strike down Texas's abortion restrictions, infuriated the court's three conservatives again by refusing to even take up a case pitting pharmacies' religious objections against access to contraception.

Alito responded with a glum dissent — just as he did in the abortion case, Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, and in last week's affirmative action case, where Kennedy's vote also swung the result in favor of existing programs.

"This case is an ominous sign," Alito wrote in an unusual, 15-page response to the court refusing to hear Stormans v. Wiesman, leaving in place a Washington state requirement for pharmacies to stock emergency contraception. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas joined him. It takes four votes for the court to hear a case.

"If this is a sign of how religious liberty claims will be treated in the years ahead," Alito continued, sounding a lot like a man who foresees a bleak future for his side, "those who value religious freedom have cause for great concern."
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http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/conservative-justices-bemoan-court-s-future-n600741