More than a year after TIME published an article criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court for the increased frequency of its unanimous and near-unanimous decisions, the magazine now takes the opposite stance.

The observations made on this blog in February 2007 still apply today:

The U.S. Supreme Court’s proper role involves settling legal disputes involving the Constitution. If the court — with its range of political and judicial viewpoints — can agree unanimously on a decision that settles a particular dispute, that decision will prove much more valuable to society than a contentious 5-4 ruling that is guaranteed to stand only as long as the court’s membership remains constant.