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Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed:

In a statement published Thursday and joined by Scalia, Thomas complained that, while the court has generally heard cases when federal or state laws have been found to be unconstitutional by lower courts, the justices “have not done so with any consistency, especially in recent months” — specifically pointing to the various marriage cases that the justices have declined to hear. [snip]

Thomas went on to explain, writing that the Supreme Court has “recognized a strong presumption in favor of” hearing appeals when federal statutes have been held unconstitutional. “States deserve no less consideration. … Indeed, we often review decisions striking down state laws, even in the absence of a disagreement among lower courts,” Thomas wrote, noting, among other cases, the court’s decision to hear the appeal of California’s Proposition 8 marriage ban — an appeal that the court ended up dismissing in 2013 on the technical grounds of standing.

Then, turning to the Supreme Court’s current term, Thomas noted, “But for reasons that escape me, we have not done so with any consistency, especially in recent months” — citing the court’s decision to deny the marriage case appeal requests out of Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Wisconsin at the start of the term and the stay requests denied since in marriage cases pending in Idaho and Alaska.

Hit the link for much more and a copy of the statement.