Some big decisions are going to be announced soon. I’m sure you know about the abortion case. Sigh. But there are some other important decisions as well and they could have major implications:
Second Amendment
As the country grapples with gun violence, the justices will decide how broadly they want to rule in a case that could open up a new chapter in constitutional challenges to gun safety laws.
After oral arguments last year, it seemed the conservatives were ready to strike down a New York law — enacted more than a century ago — that places restrictions on carrying a concealed weapon outside the home. Supporters of gun rights have been pushing the court to clarify the scope of the Second Amendment for years. The effort has been led by Thomas who in the past called the Second Amendment a “disfavored right in this court.”
But the entire landscape of the debate has shifted in recent months. Since the justices began deliberating, mass shootings have occurred across the country including a Texas massacre of 19 school children in Texas. While the shootings did not directly implicate the issue of concealed carry, the country as a whole is now debating gun safety laws.
Religious liberty
On top of abortion and gun rights, the court is also considering cases that could allow more religion in public life.
In December, they heard arguments concerning a Maine initiative that excludes some religious schools from a tuition assistance program. The program allows parents living in rural areas with no school district to use vouchers to send their children to public or private schools elsewhere. But it came under challenge when some parents wanted to use the vouchers to send their kids to religious schools.
The court could insist that if a state provides vouchers for public and private education, it cannot exclude schools that teach the curriculum through the lens of faith.
The justices are also grappling with the case of Joe Kennedy, a former Washington state high school football coach at a public school who lost his job for praying at the 50-yard line after games.
Kennedy told CNN that “every American should be able to have faith in public and not be worried about being fired over it.”
“I think it is important to keep our promises — especially to God,” he said.
But the school district said it suspended Kennedy to avoid the appearance that the school was endorsing a particular faith, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
The liberal justices on the court — Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor –made clear at oral arguments that they were worried about players feeling coerced by the school to pray.
“I’m going to just sort of suggest,” Kagan began “the idea of why the school can discipline him is that it puts some kind of undue pressure, a kind of coercion, on students to participate in religious activities when they may not wish to, when their religion is different or when they have no religion,” she said.
Immigration
As the political branches spar over immigration, the justices are considering several cases concerning border disputes.
In one case, a group of Republican-led states are seeking to step in and defend a controversial Trump-era immigration policy, a version of which the Biden administration abandoned. The policy — an expansion of the “public charge rule” — has been excised by the Biden administration.
The case does not center on the legality of the rule, but, instead, whether the Biden administration followed proper procedures when it set out to revoke the rule and dismiss pending legal challenges. The Trump policy made it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use certain public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers. The justices could reinvigorate legal challenges.
In a separate dispute, the justices are grappling with whether the Biden administration can terminate a Trump-era border policy known as “Remain in Mexico.” Lower courts have so far blocked Biden from ending the policy.
Under the unprecedented program launched in 2019, the Department of Homeland Security can send certain-non Mexican citizens who entered the United States back to Mexico — instead of detaining them or releasing them into the United States — while their immigration proceedings played out. Critics call the policy inhumane and say it exposes asylum seekers with credible claims to dangerous and squalid conditions. The case raises questions not only regarding immigration law, but also a president’s control over policy and his diplomatic relationships with neighboring countries.
Climate change
The justices unexpectedly also agreed to decide a case concerning the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants, in a dispute that could cripple the Biden administration’s attempts to slash emissions. It comes at a moment when scientists are sounding alarms about the accelerating pace of global warming.
The court’s decision to step in now concerned environmentalists because there is currently no rule in place. A lower court wiped away a Trump era rule in 2021 and the Biden administration’s EPA is currently working on a new rule.
But the fact that there were enough votes to take up the issue now, struck some as an aggressive grant, signaling the court wants to limit the scope of the EPA’s authority even before a new rule is on the books.
This is only the beginning, folks.