Sam Alito and the tipping point

The Supreme Court is about to re-hear arguments on three cases:

Although the court did not announce why it decided to hold a second hour of oral argument on the cases, the likeliest reason, based on the experience of previous transitions on the court, is that in each instance O'Connor's departure left the court divided 4 to 4.

The consensus is that these cases may indicate the direction of the court since Samuel Alito, who replaced O’Connor, will make his mark.