A pair of surprises from Amy Coney Barrett

In the foster-care case, Fulton v. Philadelphia, the three most conservative justices (Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas), argued that the court should take the plunge and overrule Smith. The six-justice majority, in an opinion by the chief justice, said the court didn’t need to go that far, because Philadelphia’s rule wasn’t, in fact, generally applicable. “The creation of a system of exceptions under the contract undermines the City’s contention that its nondiscrimination policies can brook no departures,” Roberts wrote.