Trying to anticipate the outcome of U.S. Supreme Court cases based on the content and tone of the oral arguments is risky business ââ?¬â? the justices tend to pummel both parties in a case with questions, to test the limits of the lawyersââ?¬â?¢ positions (and their own), and the discussions often veer off on tangents, giving short shrift to the central issues in the case.