Oral dissents are back in vogue at the Supreme Court as liberals lament latest rulings

As the conservative Supreme Court majority has won case after case in recent days, liberal dissenters are having their moment in the courtroom.

As the conservative Supreme Court majority has won case after case in recent days, liberal dissenters are having their moment in the courtroom. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson each took the rare step of reading provocative dissenting statements this past week. The ritual from the elevated mahogany bench offered a bit of drama before rapt courtroom spectators and a chance to draw public attention to their views. In the face of the conservative dominance, it was the best they could do. After Justice Neil Gorsuch on Friday announced the 6-3 decision letting an Oregon city ticket homeless people for sleeping outside, Sotomayor spoke up. “Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime,” she said, reading from notes before her. Observing that the city of Grants Pass arrests and fines people for sleeping in public, even if there’s no available shelter bed, Sotomayor said the law “punishes them for being homeless.” Gorsuch, who sits at Sotomayor’s immediate right on the bench, kept his head turned toward her, listening impassively. Other justices stared out at spectators or down at notes, perhaps anticipating the next opinions, and dissents, to be revealed.