The Supreme Court shows it is in no rush to decide controversial cases

The Supreme Court signaled Monday that it is in no hurry to decide two important questions it sidestepped earlier this term: whether a business owner’s religious beliefs can justify refusing wedding services to same-sex couples, and how courts should evaluate extreme partisan gerrymandering.

The justices sent back the case of a Washington state florist who was found to have violated the state’s anti-discrimination law, as well as a ruling that North Carolina’s redistricting plan is unconstitutional. They said lower courts should reconsider those decisions by applying the rather gauzy guidelines the court issued on those subjects earlier this month.