Fever pitch fouled off

The Supreme Court finished its business for the term today with no announcement of any retirements. That doesn’t mean that no one will retire. Such announcements need not be made in open Court and, as I understand it, they typically aren’t.
In the Ten Commandments cases, the Court upheld an order striking down a display of the religious document on the wall of courthouses in two Kentucky counties. But it found no constitutional violation in the placement of a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the state capitol building in Austin, Texas.
One suspects absurd hair-splitting, but that judgment must await a reading of the (many) opinions.
Via SCOTUSblog.
JOHN adds: Without having read the opinions yet, I assume this means that there will be extensive litigation over various kinds of religious/historical displays (including but not limited to the 10 commandments) for many years to come, as judges try to sort out what is and is not permissible. Viewed from a crassly political perspective, this is probably a good thing for us conservatives. But it’s no way to run a railroad.
UPDATE by Deacon: Ed Whelan at NRO’s Bench Memos is all over the Ten Commandments decisions. They don’t sound pretty. But, coupled with last week’s “takings” decision, they captured the fancy of Scrappleface.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses