Throwback: June 30th Roundup: Last Week's Opinions, End of Term Stats, Deep Dive into Trump v. Casa and New Cert Grants

This episode:

1. Analyzes the Supreme Court's blockbuster end to the 2024-2025 term, covering the final nine opinions and examining patterns across all 61 cases decided this term.
2. Explores the dramatic Friday release where cases "trickled out slowly" due to lengthy dissents read from the bench, dive into comprehensive term statistics, and conduct an in-depth analysis of Justice Barrett's methodological approach in Trump v. CASA—particularly her heavy reliance on historical sources versus textual analysis.
3. Concludes with analysis of seven landmark cases the Court agreed to hear for next term, including a billion-dollar copyright battle over internet piracy (Cox v. Sony Music), a campaign finance showdown (National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC), and disputes over federal removal deadlines, private rights of action, and criminal fugitive tolling that could reshape fundamental areas of American law. June 30 Order List: Here.

Episode Highlights

Final Week Patterns: June 27th saw uniform 6-3 splits with conservative dominance, while June 26th showed more fractures with 5-4 and 6-3 divisions

Term Overview: 61 total cases decided with a 70% reversal rate, demonstrating the Court's role as an error-correction mechanism

Voting Consensus: 43% of cases decided unanimously (26 cases), showing remarkable agreement despite ideological divisions

Barrett's Methodology: Deep dive into her historical originalism approach in Trump v. CASA versus her typical textualist methods in other cases

New Cert Grants: Overview of the 7 new cases SCOTUS agreed to hear.

Key Justice Statistics (2024-2025 Term)

The Justices wrote 5 Per Curiam opinions.

Justice Roberts: Authored or joined 59 opinions, authored or joined 1 concurrences and authored or joined 2 dissents.

Justice Thomas: Authored or joined 47 opinions, authored or joined 21 concurrences and authored or joined 14 dissents.

Justice Alito: Authored or joined 47 opinions, authored or joined 21 concurrences and authored or joined 14 dissents.

Justice Sotomayor: Authored or joined 45 opinions, authored or joined 11 concurrences and authored or joined 13 dissents.

Justice Kagan: Authored or joined 51 opinions, authored or joined 2 concurrences and authored or joined 9 dissents.

Justice Gorsuch: Authored or joined 42 opinions, authored or joined 6 concurrences and authored or joined 12 dissents.

Justice Kavanaugh: Authored or joined 57 opinions, authored or joined 9 concurrences and authored or joined 3 dissents.

Justice Barrett: Authored or joined 54 opinions, authored or joined 10 concurrences and authored or joined 5 dissents.

Justice Jackson: Authored or joined 41 opinions, authored or joined 12 concurrences and authored or joined 17 dissents.

Referenced Cases

1. Trump v. CASA (universal injunctions)
2. Grupo Mexicano (historical equity test)
3. Louisiana v. Callais (relisted case)
4. Esteras v. United States (criminal sentencing)
5. Medical Marijuana v. Horn (statutory interpretation)
6. FDA v. R.J. Reynolds (administrative law)

New Cert Grants:

1. M & K Employee Solutions, LLC, et al. v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund | Case No. 23-1209 | Docket Link: Here.
2. Cox Communications, Inc., et al. v. Sony Music Entertainment, et al. | Case No. 24-171 | Docket Link: Here.
3. FS Credit Opportunities Corp., et al. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd., et al. | Case No. 24-345 | Docket Link: Here.
4. Douglas Humberto Urias-Orellana, et al. v. Bondi | No. 24-777 | Docket Link: Here.
5. Enbridge Energy, LP, et al. v. Dana Nessel, Attorney General of Michigan, on Behalf of the People of the State of Michigan | Case No. 24-783 | Docket Link: Here.
6. Isabel Rico v. United States | Case No. 24-1056 | Docket Link: Here.
7. National Republican Senatorial Committee, et al. v. Federal Election Commission, et al. | Case No. 24-621 | Docket Link: Here.

Source cited:

1. Mark Walsh, Closing the book on the term, SCOTUSblog (Jun. 27, 2025, 7:15 PM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/06/closing-the-book-on-the-term/

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:02:13] June 27th Opinions

[00:03:20] June 26th Opinions

[00:04:30] Term in Review

[00:09:48] Trump v. CASA Deep Dive: Justice Barrett's Approach

[00:13:40] Comparing Justice Barrett's Methodology Across this Term

[00:17:00] Grupo Mexicano Heavily Influenced Justice Barrett

[00:19:42] Comparison of Oral Arguments to Opinion

[00:29:33] June 30th Cert Grants

[00:29:41] Cert Grant: M & K Employee Solutions

[00:30:36] Cert Grant: Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment

[00:32:16] Cert Grant: FS Credit v. Saba Capital Master Fund

[00:33:59] Cert Grant: Enbridge Energy v. Nessel

[00:38:35] Cert Grant: Urias-Orellana v. Bondi

[00:38:48] Cert Grant: Rico v. United States

[00:39:56] Cert Grant: Senate Committee on Ethics v. FEC

[00:41:22] Conclusion