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The Supreme Court split 5-4 against Texas’ interference with federal border patrol, allowing federal authorities to remove razor wire installed by the state. Monday’s order comes after the Biden administration pressed the justices over Texas’ intrusion on southern border activities.
A couple of things stand out about the order vacating an injunction from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. First, this didn’t need to be a divisive issue, given federal authority over the border. Yet it yielded four dissents — from Republican-appointed justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. That means Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett were in the majority with Democratic-appointed justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
So what’s the rationale for the split? Well, that’s the second thing about the order: None of the justices explained their positions. Given the apparent controversy behind the decision — judging by the vote breakdown — it would have been useful for the justices on both sides to explain their reasoning. Indeed, I noted the issue of unexplained orders in another case last year with the same 5-4 lineup. This silence on crucial court decisions isn’t new, but it hasn’t become any more palatable over time.
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