The most surprising case of the term was Groff v. DeJoy. I had no doubts that the postal worker would prevail. But the circuitous path by which the Court got there was shocking. Justice Alito wrote a unanimous opinion for the Court that reached a very careful compromise in a religious liberty case. Who had that on their SCOTUS bingo card?
What was the compromise? It turns out that TWA v. Hardison (1977) has been misread for five decades. Hundreds of judges throughout the federal judiciary consistently lacked the ability to read a Supreme Court decision. Even Judge Easterbrook, considered the paragon of textualism, misread the case. Justice Alito explains:
For example, two years ago, the Seventh Circuit told the EEOC that it would be an undue hardship on Wal-Mart (the Nation's largest private employer, with annual profits of over $11 billion) to be required to facilitate voluntary shift-trading to accommodate a prospective assistant manager's observance of the Sabbath. EEOC v. Walmart Stores East, L. P., 992 F. 3d 656, 659–660 (2021).
