The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have decided to put off releasing their rulings in several hot-button cases until the last moments of their current term. 

The New York Times highlighted this fact in a recent report, titled, Supreme Court's Leisurely Pace Will Produce Pileup of Late June Rulings. 

The report's author, Adam Liptak, notes that this slow approach isn't particularly unusual for the court in recent times, writing, "But in the last three terms, the court has decided no more than 62% of the term’s cases by June 14."

Before that, the percentage was more typically in the 70s.

What's at stake?

The Supreme Court still has about 20 decisions to release, and these decisions will cover a wide array of hot-button issues. But, perhaps, no decision is more anticipated than the court's decision related to former President Donald Trump.

Mediaite reports:

The Supreme Court Justices heard arguments on immunity on April 25. The former president has repeatedly claimed he is immune from prosecution for any actions taken while he was president.

It remains to be seen how the justices will rule on this case. But, whatever they decide will have a big effect on things. If, for example, they agree with Trump, this could upend many of the prosecutions that Trump has been facing, and, if they disagree with Trump, then the left will likely gain some momentum in its prosecutions of Trump.

But, this is not the only big case that the court has yet to decide.

There are also cases regarding such issues as social media, guns, abortion, homelessness, and more.

The "why?"

The big question is why the Supreme Court has decided to delay the release of many of the decisions. The answer is unclear. But, Liptak has highlighted some of the theories.

"There are two main theories for why the court has started moving slowly, and they reinforce each other. The first is that the proportion of blockbusters is high, in this term in particular," he writes.

Then, he adds, "The second theory is that the justices are not getting along very well in the aftermath of the leak of the decision overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, the decision itself, the drumbeat of ethics scandals, the announcement of an ethics code that seems toothless, and the drop in public respect for the court."

There are other theories as well.

Whatever the case may be, there is no doubt that these decisions will have a big impact on the country going forward. Maybe the justices just want to make sure that they are getting them right.