Supreme Court issues more 6-3 ideological rulings than last term

The Supreme Court has already issued more 6-3 decisions along ideological lines than it did during the entire term that ended last year. Tuesday's batch included four such rulings. One barred a Rastafarian man from suing prison officials who cut his dreadlocks in violation of federal law.

Another allowed a company to sue over property confiscated by the Cuban government in 1960. A third decision makes it easier for the government to deport green card holders convicted of certain crimes. The fourth eased restrictions on lawsuits against a company accused of selling equipment to the Chinese government.

The term's most significant 6-3 ruling came in April. It limited the Voting Rights Act's reach in redistricting disputes and led to new congressional maps in Southern states. Those maps gave one party an advantage in this year's midterm elections.

Two conservative justices have defended the court's record of unanimous decisions. They noted that more than half of the 46 rulings issued so far this term were unanimous. A liberal justice warned that courts must avoid appearing to apply different rules in politically sensitive cases.

Remaining Cases Twelve cases remain undecided.

Among them are disputes over presidential power to remove officials at independent agencies, border asylum rules, and state laws on sports participation. The next set of opinions is scheduled for release Thursday.