Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said Sunday that he was seeking greater consensus on the Supreme Court, adding that more consensus would be likely if controversial issues could be decided on the "narrowest possible grounds."

He said the nation would benefit if the justices could avoid 5-to-4 decisions in cases with sweeping impact, noting that many of the court's most controversial cases, including presidential wartime powers and political boundaries in Texas, would be decided in the final six weeks of the current term.

So far he seems to be delivering on this promise. The court is tossing up dramatically more unanimous decisions. Whether that trend will last as the sample size grows remains to be seen. If successful, whether this is a good or a bad thing will take me time to contemplate.