A short-handed Supreme Court begins a new term

THE JUSTICES returned to their chairs this week facing a docket that looks modest by the standards of recent years. With one seat of the nine vacant since February, when Antonin Scalia died, the risk of 4-4 ties in tricky cases seems to be making the justices choosier. Only 40 cases are on the list so far, and there are no real blockbusters among them. But despite the dearth of doozies'the past two terms have seen cases involving same-sex marriage, Obamacare, abortion and affirmative action'the docket does feature significant disputes, including a large handful involving race.On October 5th, the court heard the case of Duane Buck, a black man awaiting execution in Texas. Mr Buck was sent to death row after his lawyers put a psychologist on the stand to testify that Mr Buck's race made him more likely to commit violent crimes in the future. To compound the injury, the lawyer handling Mr Buck's appeal tarried in filing a claim of inept representation. In Buck v Davis, the justices will resolve whether what amounts to a missed deadline should allow a blatant episode of injustice to pass quietly into the night.A more difficult race-infused criminal justice...Continue reading
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