The case of Fisher v. University of Texas is one of the most-prominent and controversial issues in front of eight (and not nine) justices this term. (Justice Elena Kagan is not involved in the Fisher decision, due to her prior position as solicitor general.)
The case was argued last October and it is the last one from that session that hasn’t seen a public ruling by the court.
Again, on Monday, the court didn’t announce a decision in the Fisher case.
There hasn’t been a lot of public speculation about the apparent delay in the Fisher decision, but it isn’t the only case on the court’s radar about affirmative action, after going years without a major ruling on the matter.
The court decided in late March 2013 to hear a second case, in its next term (which starts in October 2013) about an affirmative action suit in Michigan. Justice Kagan is also not involved in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action.
Both cases involve similar issues. The speculation in late March was that ruling in the Texas case was imminent, since the justices agreed to take up the Michigan case in next term.
And two months’ later, the “imminent” decision in the Fisher case is still on hold, with a month left in the court’s current term.
Constitution Daily contributor Lyle Denniston, writing for SCOUTUSblog, defined one big difference between the Texas and Michigan cases back in March.
“The Fisher case, while it does have fairly broad potential, focuses directly only on the specifics of an affirmative action plan at Texas’s flagship university in Austin, and so the ruling in that case might not go much beyond that plan,” he said.
What say You
You need a history lesson. The USSC has a self imposed deadline of 1 June for all opinions. Then they justices have 14-15 days to review all the opinions and write their concurrence or dissents. They have already voted on each ruling and will present by the end of June. This isn't new.
