On Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that it is the right of the individual to keep and possess firearms, but questions still loom about whether or not

The Supreme Court's decisions in recent weeks have casual observers scratching their heads trying to figure out the ideological bent of this bench.
The focus of those mental gymnastics can be narrowed to one justice: Anthony Kennedy. He's the new Sandra Day O'Connor.
cation to neutrality.

Why did the Founders bother toiling in the summer heat of Philadelphia in 1787 writing a Constitution when they could have relied on the consciences of Supreme Court justices like Anthony Kennedy instead?
Kennedy is the Supreme Court's most important swing vote and its worst justice. Whatever else you think of them, a Justice Scalia or Ginsburg has a consistent judicial philosophy, while Kennedy expects the nation to bend to his moral whimsy. With apologies to Louis XIV, Kennedy might as well declare ''la constitution, c'est moi!''
torially: ''No decision of this Court supports such a view. None of the learned commentators on our Constitution has ever hinted at it.''

Andrew Corso's letter "Irrelevant history" - is itself irrelevant for three reasons. First, words mean something.
Mr. Corso details in his letter how Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion "was not about what is right, not about what is smart, nor about the best interests of the District."
appened had this decision gone the same disastrous way as Boumediene v. Bush - which gives terrorists caught on foreign battlefields, and who want to kill us in the name of their god - rights and attorneys. As Justice Scalia so aptly noted, "The nation will live to regret what the court has done today."

In 19 cases during the past year, the Supreme Court split down the middle along ideological lines. The court's four conservatives—Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito—lined up on one side, and the four liberals—Justices Stephen Breyer, John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter—lined up on the other. Each time, the tie was broken by a fifth vote belonging to Justice Anthony Kennedy. On 13 occasions, Kennedy aligned himself with the conservatives. While the court is clearly moving to the right, it's obvious that Kennedy holds the balance of power.
Kennedy is known for examining his conscience as well as

By Greg Stohr June 30 (Bloomberg) -- The US Supreme Court ruled on some of the country's most divisive issues in its just-completed term.

By Jonathan H. Adler This time one year ago legal commentators proclaimed a new conservative era had dawned on the Supreme Court.

BY GREG STOHR BLOOMBERG NEWS Even an off year for business at the US Supreme Court is still a good year. The court last week ruled in favor of Exxon Mobil

The ideological divide was so evident this term that outcomes in most major cases could be nearly predicted. Once again, Justice Kennedy often cast the deciding vote in 5-4 decisions.
By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
he U.S. at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and said the prisoners have a right to plead for their freedom before a federal judge.

Key decisions of this term show a willingness of some justices to reject political leaders' judgments.
By Warren Richey | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
itics say the Supreme Court appears to be positioning itself more as a player than as an umpire.

The final flurry of rulings in the Supreme Court's just-completed term made it clear that the future of the court, and some of its most contentious rulings, rests with voters who will elect a new president in November.
The justices managed to narrow their ideological differences at times during the 2007-08 term, and lowered the temperature a bit on such heated issues as executions and gun control. But rulings in the last two weeks showed that it's still the same divided court, with moderately conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy standing between two rival blocs - a configuration that could change with the election's outcome.
the more conservative justices - Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito or Chief Justice John Roberts - is likely to retire anytime soon.

In two of the most significant decisions in the court's just-ended term, the decisions of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, above, proved to be more crucial than those of Chief Justice John Roberts, right.
By LINDA GREENHOUSE, New York Times
ntanamo detainees access to federal court and rejecting capital punishment for those who rape children were issued over the dissent of the chief justice. ¶ Nor was it a court in repose. Just less than 30 percent of the cases were decided without dissent, compared with just more than 40 percent in the term before, and just over half in 2005-06.

WASHINGTON (AP) - For most of the term, Supreme Court justices showed remarkable restraint. They displayed broad agreement even in some volatile areas and refrained from angry dissents.
Then they decided the tough cases.
tice Antonin Scalia said in a scathing dissent he read from the bench.

By James Oliphant | Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - With his third term as chief justice coming to a close amid three explosive cases last week, John Roberts has proved to be almost everything conservatives hoped and liberals feared.
Despite pledges during his 2005 confirmation hearing to hew to judicial centrism, Roberts has shown himself to be a reliable member of the Supreme Court's right flank—rarely, if ever, disagreeing with its positions on civil rights, gun control, the death penalty, affirmative action and a host of other issues.
ce reform measure designed to help candidates for office run against wealthier foes.

AP Ruled that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting. It was the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in history.