ROBED RULERS

The Supreme Court waited for the last moment before summer adjournment to issue its most controversial cultural and political decisions. It struck down a Texas anti-sodomy law—swinging open the courthouse door to further legal attacks on marriage and community standards—and decided affirmative action and pornography cases. The high court provided a powerful reminder of the high stakes involved in judicial selection. With potentially three openings to fill, President Bush may have an opportunity to rein in judicial lawmaking | Bob Jones

HUGS IN THE CASTRO DISTRICT, relief in Ann Arbor, panic in public libraries across the country: If it's the end of June, the Supreme Court must be turning laws—and lives—upside-down.

Wrapping up another difficult session, the nation's highest court last week dropped a series of legal bombshells, guaranteeing fallout that will last for decades. From gay rights to affirmative action to censorship, the nine justices issued perhaps their most controversial decision in a rare Thursday session—just before they high-tailed it out of town. In Lawrence vs. Texas, a majority of six justices took "the most radical outcome possible," according to Tom Jipping, a family activist and veteran court-watcher who was in the chamber when the decision was announced. "They basically declared there is a constitutional right to homosexual sex. Adding to the radical approach, they rejected the whole idea that legislatures can enforce community standards."