Which Ways Did the Supreme Court Lean on Its Most Important Decisions?

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1983

Every year, the Supreme Court is in the spotlight for two weeks at the end of June as it delivers rulings on its most pressing and potentially influential cases.

In just the past three years, SCOTUS upheld the Affordable Care Act, struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and part of the Voting Rights Act, and allowed private for-profits to decline covering contraception for employees on religious grounds. Each of these verdicts was rendered in that two-week period, which always closes out the court's year.

But how about the past 68 years? Column Five created an interactive infographic that charts out the most influential Supreme Court decisions between 1946 and 2012. The graphic also breaks down cases by category, and gives an overall view of how liberally or conservatively the court ruled on cases in that year based on analysis by Washington University in St. Louis.

Here's an overview of how the high court has taken on the hottest issues:


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