FOR INSIDERS | Supreme Court’s 6-3 cases: When did justices split along ideological lines?

The Supreme Court split along its 6-3 ideological lines in nearly a quarter of the argued cases this term. 

The battles were big and small, from President Trump’s agenda to thorny disputes over the meaning of securities statutes. All but two came down in June, the final month of opinion season.

Meanwhile, nearly half the cases were decided unanimously.

Here’s a look at the 13 argued cases this term where all six conservatives were on one side, with the three liberal justices in dissent.

The court’s decision narrowing groups’ ability to use Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to force new majority-minority districts fell along the court’s familiar lines. 

By striking down a map in Louisiana, the conservative majority added to a series of decisions in recent years weakening the scope of the 1965 landmark law. 

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito insisted they weren’t abandoning the court’s voting rights precedents. 

“We need only update the framework, so it aligns with the statutory text and reflects important developments,” Alito wrote. 

It has already led to major changes for the midterms. Louisiana quickly removed its second-majority Black district, as did Alabama. And other GOP-controlled states have latched onto the ruling to design new maps as well. 

Transgender athletes 

This past week, the conservative majority sided with Idaho and West Virginia on their transgender athlete bans. 

Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s 29-page majority opinion rejects arguments that such laws violate the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. The liberal justices agreed with the conservatives that the laws didn’t run afoul of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools.  

It hands a win to more than two dozen Republican-led states that have since 2020 enacted a wave of legislation barring transgender girls from competing on school women’s sports teams.

It also adds to a series of recent losses for transgender advocacy groups. Last year, the court ruled along ideological lines that states could bar gender-affirming care for minors. 

Independent agencies 

Trump called the court’s 6-3 decision expanding his firing power the most consequential. 

Leading the majority, Chief Justice John........

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