Interesting voting pattern in a Supreme Court ruling today. Instead of the usual conservative & liberal voting blocs, we find Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg, Souter, and Stevens in the majority–while Breyer, Kennedy, Alito and Roberts dissent.

The case is called United States v. Santos and the issue was how to interpret the term “proceeds” in the federal money laundering statute. The case was easy and should have been unanimous. When a term in a criminal law is unclear, the defendant should get the benefit of the doubt, not the rule-making, rule-enforcing state. That’s a legal doctrine called the “rule of lenity.” Unfortunately, the Supremes do not apply that rule consistently. Happily, the Court reached the correct outcome today. Here’s the money quote from Scalia: “When interpreting a criminal statute, we do not play the part of a mind reader.” The “we” in that sentence referred to the justices. But that goes double for the individuals & business firms that are regulated by vague federal regulations.

The newest justices, Alito and Roberts, are showing their pro-state tendencies again.