![]() In the chemical weapons treaty case, Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have imposed serious limits on the federal government’s powers relating to treaties. In the recess appointments case, Justice Anthony Kennedy joined with the liberal justices to endorse reasoning that preserved, at least in theory, the president’s authority to make the temporary, recess appointments when the Senate takes a break from its work. ![]() Yet, as even Severino acknowledged, the unanimity sometimes masked serious disagreement among the conservative justices about the grounds for the decisions. “This was a huge rebuke for taking the very extreme positions the administration put before the court, particularly for executive power grabs,” said Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network. The court struck down Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, the 35-foot buffer zone around Massachusetts abortion clinics and the criminal conviction under a chemical weapons treaty of a woman who tried to poison her husband’s lover. ![]() ![]() The cases include high-profile disputes in which the administration could not attract a vote for its preferred result, even from the two justices appointed by President Barack Obama: Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. ![]()
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