An interesting pastime for legal enthusiasts is trying to determine which Justice was the main author of a per curiam opinion. Recently, I speculated that Chief Justice Roberts may have authored the per curiam opinion in Gonzales v. Trevino. It turns out that Roberts did indeed announce Trevino from the bench.
Earlier this term, the Supreme Court tackled two cases regarding government officials blocking constituents on social media: Lindke v. Freed and O’Connor Ratcliff v. Garnier. Justice Barrett penned the majority opinion in the former, while a per curiam opinion was issued in the latter. Justice Barrett announced both cases during the hand-down.
In the previous term, the Supreme Court handled two Section 230 cases: Twitter v. Taamneh and Gonzalez v. Google. Justice Thomas authored the majority opinion in the former, with a brief per curiam opinion in the latter. Justice Thomas announced both cases during the hand-down.
Is there a consistent pattern where the Chief Justice always announces the per curiam opinion in unpaired cases? Further research would be needed to establish a definitive rule.
