Several long-standing precedents have fallen in recent years at the hands of the Court’s conservative majority. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the ruling in June that overturned Roe. Linda Greenhouse: What in the world happened to the Supreme Court? But what I have seen this term on open display inside the courtroom is an obvious departure from the collegiality of years past. Only the justices are privy to the mood in their private conference room where cases are discussed after the hearings. As The Economist’s SCOTUS correspondent, I’ve watched arguments in the most contentious cases of the past decade-a Church-state fight in 2013 the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage showdowns in 2015 clashes over affirmative action (2015), labor unions (2018), voting rights (2018), and abortion (2020) and dozens of others. I’ve been attending Supreme Court oral arguments since 2013. Rancor has always animated the justices’ opinions, but it was limited to pen and paper. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg grew frail in her final year, Thomas would offer his arm to ease her descent from the bench. The one-liners and jibes of Antonin Scalia, the ornery conservative, drew laughs from his conservative and liberal colleagues alike. Ketanji Brown Jackson’s predecessor, Stephen Breyer, and Clarence Thomas-ideological opposites but quite friendly-would whisper and tell jokes during oral arguments. Justices of sharply different legal views have been dinner-party friends, skeet-shooting pals, and opera companions.

For decades, though, peace has mostly prevailed.

More recently, there have been reports of justices’ annoyance with Neil Gorsuch, and Sonia Sotomayor took the unusual step of publicly tamping down speculation of a dustup over his decision not to wear a mask during the Omicron wave a year ago. The Court has seen acrimony in its history, such as the mutual hostility among four of Franklin D. Wade, the justices are betraying signs of impatience and frustration with one another-sometimes bordering on disrespect.

But six months after the Court overturned Roe v. Supreme Court justices often get cross with lawyers arguing cases before them.

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