Takeaways from the latest controversial and contentious Supreme Court term

Last fall, just when the Supreme Court was gearing up to start a new term, Chief Justice John Roberts told an audience in Colorado that he was looking forward to a return to normal where the public would be able to attend oral arguments in person after a Covid-induced break and metal barricades, erected to ward off protesters in the wake of the reversal of Roe v. Wade, would finally come down.

“I think the more normal, the better,” Roberts quipped.

The question after this term: What is normal?

A confident, conservative majority is hitting its stride, overturning precedent at times and shifting the law to the right in many areas that govern how Americans live their lives. As is always the case, the term featured unusual alliances at times and a handful of unanimous opinions. There were even unexpected liberal wins in the area of voting rights.

But as Roberts steered his court through political attacks, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas fought allegations of ethics improprieties, the liberal minority sought to pick off conservative votes, and the junior most justice found her voice, one constant remained: The court’s arc continued to bend right, and it could remain in that position for decades.

Here are some key moments of the term:

Accepting an award last month in Washington, DC, Roberts appeared pale and weary – delivering a speech that was less lively than usual and confessing that the hardest decision he’d made in his tenure was allowing security officials to erect barricades around the court to ward off protesters after the court rolled back Roe v. Wade.

What the audience did not know that night, is that the chief’s fatigue was likely because he was toiling away at four opinions he was writing that would impact how Americans live their lives.

Two cases concerned voting rights, and…