A new alliance on the Supreme Court...

 ... and it's not who you might think: Justices Gorsuch and Jackson.  Via David Lat (you should subscribe to his newsletter if you haven't already):

The two justices have joined forces in four opinions so far this Term, per Lydia Wheeler of Bloomberg Law: Tyler v. Hennepin County, where Justice Gorsuch wrote a concurrence that only Justice Jackson joined; Polselli v. Internal Revenue Service, where Justice Jackson wrote a concurrence that only Justice Gorsuch joined; Bittner v. United States, where Justice Jackson was the only member of the Court to join Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion in full; and Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, where Justice Gorsuch wrote a concurrence that only Justice Jackson joined. In addition, Justice Jackson was the only justice to join Justice Gorsuch when he dissented in December from the grant of certiorari in Arizona v. Mayorkas (the Title 42 case that the Court recently dismissed as moot).

What’s behind this joining of forces? I agree with Professor Anthony Michael Kreis, who told Bloomberg Law that the justices’ shared concern about “protecting the little guy” reflects Gorsuch’s libertarian worldview and Jackson’s concern for civil rights. I also concur with Professor Dan Ortiz, who notes that their apparent support for the rule of lenity is consistent with Gorsuch’s concern about overreaching government and Jackson’s pre-robescent career as a public defender.

I also wonder whether it might reflect two other things. First, in their inaugural terms on the Court, both Justices Gorsuch and Jackson were surprisingly outspoken on the bench for junior justices (and got very different coverage for it, as noted by Ted Frank—mostly critical for Justice Gorsuch, and mostly “Yas Queen!” for Justice Jackson). As two justices less inclined to show deference to senior colleagues and more willing to express their views openly, it makes sense for them to team up in separate opinions that opine a bit more broadly than their colleagues.

Second—and this is entirely speculation on my part, but drop me a line if you have actual info—I wonder if the two might be personally friendly or copacetic. Cf. Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who enjoyed an across-the-aisle friendship over many years together on the Court (even if it didn’t manifest itself in their votes or opinions). Maybe Justice Jackson can invite Justice Gorsuch, an avid outdoorsman who presumably enjoys wilderness-y stuff, to a viewing party for Survivor, one of her favorite shows. In her recent commencement speech at American University’s Washington College of Law, Justice Jackson cited Survivor for various life lessons, including “understanding that this game is about existing both in community and conflict”—wisdom that might explain her alliance with Justice Gorsuch.