While I agree that a lack of compassion, or "feeling for the little guy" may be a part of what's going on with the Supreme Court, as a liberal, and an attorney, I have a somewhat different take on the Roberts court. Could it be that the Court's recent decisions reflect an underlying collective belief that Congress has to a great extent abdicated its proper role in the lawmaking process and rendered itself largely irrelevant? In my view, the conservatives on the Court may be acting not from an inherent insensitivity to people; rather, they are signaling that they will no longer be as willing to insert their opinions for those that they believe should be expressed by Congress via the laws they receive for review. I often say that "activist judges equal lazy legislators". Because the politicians in Congress are unwilling to deal with the political heat they would have to face if legislation were written in ways that clearly define each bill's goals and objectives, they have often used "waffle words" or such general terms that the courts have been forced to define the terms, thus opening judges to claims that they are "making law". In reality, in some cases, this has been the only way the Supreme Court (as well as lower courts) have been able to make decisions at all.

It seems to me that one can argue that the Roberts Court is forcing Congress' hand. They are saying to Congress: "You are the representatives of the people; if you want the people to benefit from legislation, you had better spell it out for us, so our decision will have to reflect the will of the people, rather than the will of the Justices."

Let's spend our energy on getting the folks we elect to Congress to reclaim their power and write laws that don't give the Justices the room to be heartless.