7:54
Many of the court's unanimous opinions have been narrow, focusing on facts limited to a case while largely avoiding more controversial overarching issues. The Philadelphia foster care decision was a rare instance in which both sides said they found reason to be upbeat.
\"I suspect the justices feel there is value in conveying to the American people that in a hyper-partisan moment, in which we saw deadly political violence in connection with a presidential election, the court remains a largely nonpartisan institution,\" Shaw said.
There have been four cases decided by a vote of 5-4 and seven cases decided by a vote of 6-3. The most fractured decisions were often scrambled combinations of conservative and liberal justices, rather than broken along pure ideological lines.
All three female justices -- Barrett, Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor -- for the first time dissented from their male counterparts in a 6-3 decision earlier this week involving the Renewable Fuel Standard and small refineries.
\"The chief may no longer be the swing vote but -- with the help of Justice Breyer, who is now the most senior Democratic appointed justice -- he is still wielding enormous influence,\" said Sara Isgur, a former Justice Department lawyer, host of the \"Advisory Opinions\" podcast and an ABC News contributor. \"(He's) steering the court toward narrower, more incremental outcomes while attempting to shield the court from getting entangled in the political battles of the day.\"
Not everyone is celebrating the court's approach, however.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/scotus-family-2021-ap-ps-210423_1619202370233_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Progressive legal activists and some Democratic lawmakers claim that the conservative justices are lying in wait, and that decisions like the unanimous Philadelphia foster care decision should ring \"alarm bells.\"
\"We have progressive justices being forced to compromise with bigots just to avoid an even worse, more broad ruling allowing government-sanctioned discrimination,\" said Aaron Belkin, director of Take Back the Court, a left-wing advocacy group.
\"The three liberal justices are attempting to buy time, but they are far outnumbered by hyper-conservative justices, including those in stolen seats and time is running out,\" he said.
Belkin is part of a constellation of liberal groups lobbying Congress and Biden to add seats to the Supreme Court and appoint more liberal members as a counterbalance to the conservative majority. Biden has said he disfavors the idea.
\"We know that court reform is on the justices' minds,\" said Rosen. \"Justice Breyer said it was in a recent speech at Harvard Law School and he warned Democrats not to pack the courts because he said that maintaining nonpartisan legitimacy of the courts is necessary to preserving the rule of law.\"
Public opinion of the court has been steadily rising over the past decade, according to Gallup's tracking poll. Roughly half of Americans say they approve of how the justices are handling their job, compared with just a third voicing approval of Congress.
Next term, which starts in October, may mark the beginning of a different chapter.
\"It might not be so easy to find unanimity on abortion, gun rights and potentially affirmative action,\" Isgur said. \"All will take center stage in the run up to a contentious midterm election.\"
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