The justices are left with 18 decisions to hand down before June 30, as they have typically wrapped up each term before the start of July. That prompted some users on the popular SCOTUSblog chatroom to raise concerns about whether the justices will finish the term on time.
"The court is generally releasing more of its decisions in June or later now than ever in the past. The number has been as low as 8.5% of opinions in June or later in the mid-1960s," according to Feldman, who tracks a range of Supreme Court statistics dating back to the 1800s. Last May, Chief Justice John Roberts made the unprecedented move to order the placement of tall metal barricades outside the building after the leak of a draft opinion signaling the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which ultimately happened and resulted in widespread protests in the weeks following the leak and the eventual June 24 release of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
Speaking before the American Law Institute last month, Roberts said the"hardest decision" he's ever made was"whether to erect fences and barricades around the Supreme Court. I had no choice but to go ahead and do it."