article_snippet.sent: But the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts has always been about a lot more than the intentions of the framers.
article_snippet.sent: And public opinion is just one of the extrajudicial factors that the justices sometimes take into consideration.
article_snippet.sent: There are risks, of course, when the justices are guided by more than the text and history of the Constitution itself.
article_snippet.sent: Like everyone else, the justices have imperfect instincts when it comes to measuring public attitudes.
article_snippet.sent: Still, when it comes to the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts decisions, it is usually safe to bet that a majority of the justices will come down on the side favored by most of the public.
article_snippet.sent: In any case, as we head into the argument, it looks like most of the justices have already made up the justices minds.
article_snippet.sent: In any case, at oral argument, we'll get a clue what the justices themselves are thinking about the issue.
article_snippet.sent: But we already know that the justices themselves decision, like so many in the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts's history, will be based on a great deal more than the text of the Constitution.