Although the four most liberal justices on the U.S. Supreme Court were in the majority in most of the major cases in October Term 2014, that seems less likely for the new term that begins on Oct 5. The decisions in any year are so much a product of the cases on the docket. During October Term 2013, 66 percent of the cases were decided unanimously. But last year, the court was unanimous in only 34 percent of its decisions.
Justice Anthony Kennedy is frequently the swing vote, especially in ideologically divided cases, and it was often the key to the liberal justices being in the majority last term. In the first nine years of the Roberts Court, when the justices were ideologically split, 4-4, Kennedy voted with the conservatives about 70 percent of the time. But last year, there were 14 cases split among ideological lines and Kennedy was with the liberals in 10 and the conservatives in only five.
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