peekay wrote:
] International opinion? Umm. Since when was international
] opinion a ~formal~ basis for the U.S. Supreme Court? I might
] just have to search LexisNexis for any prior rulings with that
] wording. Hrmm. Cheers, -Pk

Its not entirely new. In recent years Supreme Courts have referenced each other more often. On the other hand, I think your comment is a bit out of context. The court isn't imposing international law here. You can't sum up the reasoning behind a Supreme Court decision in a soundbyte.

1. In recent years technology has made international law and international court opinions more accessible then before.

2. Is the court a political organization, or are they grasping at basic, fundamental truths? Sometimes they are the latter. It seems unreasonable to forbid them from considering ideas that came from outside the U.S. in this role.

3. It is obviously similarly unreasonable for the court to prefer international opinion to domestic opinion in the political realm.

4. I agree with the outcome here. (I haven't read the decision, and probably won't.) I think the fact that we were literally the last country to figure this out reflects poorly on our culture.