SCOTUS Defense of Marriage Act: Will the Court Punt on DOMA, Prop 8, and Shelby?

Impact

On Monday, the Supreme Court effectively "punted" on Fisher v. University of Texas (an affirmative action case), by vacating and remanding the case to the lower court. SCOTUS is requiring that the lower court apply a stricter standard in evaluating the Univeristy of Texas' affirmative action polices, to require the University to prove that race isn't the only factor they're considering on an application. By doing so, it has some speculating whether a majority of the justices will go this route on the other major cases. 

There is a "way out," whereby the Supreme Court could, for instance, not grant plaintiffs standing (in the Hollingsworth / Proposition 8 case) and not rule on the central issues on procedural grounds. I think that would leave a lot of Americans disappointed, to have come this far, only to have to take a step backwards. We'll see.