Profiles in Awesomeness: AKen

Hear ye, Hear ye, Court is now in session!

SCOTUS kicks off its new term today, and there are a lot of hot-button issues on deck. People that care are waiting with bated breath to see if the most recent additions to the Court, now that they've had some time to settle in, will be able to successfully swing the Court back hard right and stop the accursed secular-progressive juggernaut from damning the soul of our great nation.

According to some really smart people, the fate of the world hinges on the mysterious and unpredictable whims of our very own Justice Kennedy.

"It's hard to understate the significance of Justice Kennedy," said Douglas Kmiec, a onetime Justice Department lawyer in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, who now teaches law at Pepperdine University.

"The problem for both the more liberal side of the court and the more conservative side is that neither fully understands Justice Kennedy," he added. "They work rather conscientiously at trying to understand his perspective, and winning him over."

Despite CJ Roberts' ambitious goal of a cohesive and unanimous Court, last term saw more 5-4 decisions than we have seen in years, and Kennedy was in the majority in every single one. This basically means that HUGELY important issues are being decided by a single person, a state of affairs that makes me pretty nervous.

A number of other wild card factors are also present this term, which could make for a tumultuous and unpredictable judicial season.

Beyond the caseload, the individual dynamics among justices on the high court's bench could also play out along interesting storylines, among them:

The health scare involving 52-year-old Chief Justice John Roberts, hospitalized in July with a still-unexplained seizure: Can he cast aside any concerns over his still-developing leadership skills?

The ageless 87-year-old John Paul Stevens, leader of the more liberal wing of the court: Can he hold together a loose left-leaning coalition?

The newest justice, Samuel Alito: Will he remain a reliably conservative vote as he begins his second full term?

Lesser-known Justices David Souter and Stephen Breyer: Will they emerge as key behind-the-scenes players on a range of hot-button cases?

In spite of all the uncertainty and apprehension hovering over the bench like a storm cloud, I am very excited about what this term might hold, and am crossing my fingers that any surprises that might occur end up being favorable to my position. Stay tuned. It could get interesting.