WATCH: Supreme Court justices direct dissents at each other in high-profile decisions

Several recent decisions on the Supreme Court, including student loans and affirmative action, have sharply divided the Supreme Court justices' along ideological lines, Supreme Court analyst Marcia Coyle told the PBS NewsHour.

Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson both directed comments in their opinions at each other after the decision on affirmative action, with Thomas accusing her of "an organizing principle based on race" and of believing "almost all of life's outcomes may be unhesitatingly ascribed to race," based on Jackson's disagreement with the high court's decision.

For her part, Jackson said Thomas' opinion "demonstrates an obsession with race consciousness."

Thomas and Jackson were not the only justices to square off in their opinions. In her dissent of the court overturning President Joe Biden's plan to forgive federal student loan debt, justice Elena Kagan noted that in the past justices have raised the alarm "when the court has overreached."

Chief Justice John Roberts warned colleagues that disagreements on the court could be misperceived as "disparagement."

"Any such misperception would be harmful to this institution and our country," he wrote.

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app

Find more from PBS NewsHour at

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Subscribe:

PBS NewsHour podcasts

Newsletters