Facts over ideology: "The liberal justices voted against the Obama administration more often than the conservatives did."

Supreme Court liberal on criminal justice issues: Clarence Thomas sided with Obama Administration.: "While the executive branch historically wins 60 to70 percent of its cases in the high court, this year the administration won only 38 percent. The court ruled against the administration in 13 of the 21 cases in which the federal government was a party, including Monday’s important decision curtailing the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate pollution from power plants. The administration’s low win rate might seem to be the inevitable result of ideological disagreements between a liberal president and a conservative court. Yet the data suggest a more surprising story: The liberal justices voted against the Obama administration more often than the conservatives did. 

The two justices who cast the most votes against the administration this term were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, each opposing the administration in 71 percent of the cases. Justice Sonia Sotomayor isn’t far behind, voting against the administration 67 percent of the time. Who voted the most with the administration? Justices Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy, who each sided with the administration more often than not (in 52 percent of the cases). A closer look at this term’s lineup suggests a reason: The administration was far more conservative on criminal justice issues than the Supreme Court was..."