(Adds arguments in abortion, Starbucks ( SBUX ) and homelessness cases)
April 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court's current
term features major cases involving former President Donald
Trump's ballot disqualification, his claim of immunity from
prosecution, the abortion pill, gun rights, the power of federal
agencies, social media regulation and Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy
settlement.
Here is a look at some of the rulings already issued, cases
already argued and cases still to be argued this term.
TRUMP BALLOT DISQUALIFICATION
The court on March 4 handed Trump a major victory by barring
states from disqualifying candidates for federal office under a
constitutional provision involving insurrection and reversing
Colorado's exclusion of him from its ballot. The justices
unanimously overturned a decision by Colorado's top court to
kick the former president off the state's Republican primary
ballot after finding that the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment
disqualified him from again holding public office. The Colorado
court had found that Trump took part in an insurrection for
inciting and supporting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S.
Capitol by his supporters.
TRUMP IMMUNITY CLAIM
The justices are set on April 25 to hear arguments in
Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution for trying to
overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Lower
courts have rejected Trump's bid to be shielded from a federal
criminal case pursued by Special Counsel Jack Smith, with the
consideration of his appeal by the justices delaying the start
of his trial. Trump has said he is immune because he was
president when he took the actions aimed at undoing the election
outcome. A ruling is expected by the end of June.
OBSTRUCTION CHARGE
The court on April 16 heard arguments over whether a man
named Joseph Fischer who was involved in the Capitol attack can
be charged with obstructing an official proceeding -
congressional certification of the 2020 election results. The
case has potential implications for Trump because he faces the
same charge in the special counsel's federal election subversion
case. The conservative justices during the argument signaled
skepticism toward the obstruction charge brought against
Fischer. A ruling is expected by the end of June.
ABORTION PILL ACCESS
The justices on March 26 heard arguments in a case involving
possible restrictions in access to the abortion pill. The
justices signaled they were unlikely to limit access, appearing
skeptical that the anti-abortion groups and doctors challenging
the drug, called mifepristone, have the needed legal standing to
bring the case. The Biden administration has appealed a lower
court's ruling in favor of the plaintiffs that would limit how
the medication is prescribed and distributed. A ruling is
expected by the end of June.
IDAHO ABORTION LAW
The justices on April 24 heard arguments in a case pitting
Idaho's strict Republican-backed abortion ban against a 1986
federal law that ensures that patients can receive emergency
care. Biden's administration sued Idaho over the ban, which has
a narrow exception permitting an abortion to save the woman's
life. Idaho officials appealed a lower court's ruling that the
Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) supersedes
the state's abortion law when the two conflict. The justices
appeared split. The conservative justices voiced concerns about
what protections federal law extends to "unborn children" and
whether Congress clearly indicated EMTALA can mandate abortion
in certain emergency cases. A ruling is expected by the end of
June.
BUMP STOCKS
The court on Feb. 28 heard arguments over the legality of a
ban imposed during Trump's presidency on "bump stocks" - devices
that enable semiautomatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine
guns. The justices delved into the technical aspects of the
devices. The Biden administration has appealed a lower court's
ruling in favor of a Texas gun shop owner who challenged the ban
implemented after a 2017 mass shooting that killed 58 people in
Las Vegas. A ruling is expected by the end of June.
NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION FREE SPEECH
The justices on March 18 heard arguments over the National
Rifle Association's claim that a New York state official
violated its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's
First Amendment by coercing banks and insurers to cut ties with
it. The NRA urged the justices to revive its lawsuit accusing
the official, Maria Vullo, of unlawfully retaliating against it
following a 2018 mass shooting that killed 17 people at a
Parkland, Florida high school. The justices sought to
distinguish permissible government advocacy from unlawful
coercion. A ruling is expected by the end of June.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE GUN CURBS
The court on Nov. 7 heard arguments over the legality of a
federal law that makes it a crime for people under domestic
violence restraining orders to have guns. The justices appeared
inclined to uphold the law. Biden's administration appealed a
lower court's ruling that the law violated the Constitution's
Second Amendment's "right to keep and bear arms." The challenge
was filed by a Texas man charged with illegal gun possession
while subject to a domestic violence restraining order after
assaulting his girlfriend. A ruling is expected by the end of
June.
SOUTH CAROLINA ELECTORAL MAP
The justices on Oct. 11 heard arguments over the legality of
a Republican-drawn electoral map in South Carolina that was
blocked by a lower court for racial bias after 30,000 Black
residents were moved out of a U.S. House of Representatives
district. The conservative justices signaled sympathy toward
arguments made by Republican South Carolina officials. The lower
court in 2023 found that the map violated constitutional
provisions that guarantee equal protection under the law and bar
racial voting discrimination. But on March 28 it decided that
the map could be used in this year's elections because the
Supreme Court's ruling had not yet been issued and the election
calendar was fast approaching. A ruling by the Supreme Court is
expected by the end of June.
FISH CONSERVATION PROGRAM
The court heard arguments on Jan. 17 in a bid by fishing
companies to further limit the regulatory powers of federal
agencies in a dispute involving a government-run program to
monitor for overfishing of herring off New England's coast. The
justices appeared divided in the case. The companies have asked
the court to rein in or overturn a precedent established in 1984
that calls for judges to defer to federal agency interpretation
of U.S. laws deemed to be ambiguous, a doctrine called "Chevron
deference." A ruling is expected by the end of June.
CONSUMER WATCHDOG AGENCY'S FUNDING
The justices on Oct. 3 heard the payday lending industry's
challenge to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's
funding structure. The justices appeared skeptical of the
challenge in a case that Biden's administration has said
imperils an agency set up to curb predatory lending after the
2008 global financial crisis. The administration appealed a
lower court's ruling that the funding mechanism violated the
constitutional provision giving lawmakers the power of the
purse. A ruling is expected by the end of June.
SEC IN-HOUSE ENFORCEMENT
The court on Nov. 29 heard arguments over the legality of
proceedings conducted by in-house judges at the Securities and
Exchange Commission to enforce investor-protection laws. The
conservative justices signaled some sympathy toward the
challenge brought by a Texas-based hedge fund manager who the
SEC fined and barred from the industry after determining he had
committed securities fraud. Biden's administration appealed a
lower court decision striking down the SEC enforcement
proceedings at issue as unconstitutional for violating the right
to a jury trial and infringing on presidential and congressional
powers. A ruling is expected by the end of June.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
The justices on March 15 decided that government officials
can sometimes be sued under the First Amendment for blocking
critics on social media. In unanimous rulings in two cases from
California and Michigan, the justices set a new standard for
determining if public officials acted in a governmental capacity
when blocking critics on social media - a test to be applied in
lawsuits accusing them of First Amendment violations. First
Amendment free speech protections generally constrain government
actors, not private individuals.
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT MODERATION
The court on Feb. 26 heard arguments over the legality of
Republican-backed laws in Texas and Florida that constrain the
ability of social media companies to curb content on their
platforms that these businesses deem objectionable. The
justices expressed reservations about the laws but signaled they
may not block them in their entirety. The two cases involve
technology industry challenges contending that the laws
restricting the content-moderation practices of large social
media platforms violate First Amendment protections. A decision
is expected by the end of June.
PURDUE PHARMA BANKRUPTCY SETTLEMENT
The court on Dec. 4 heard arguments over whether to approve
pain medication OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy
settlement. The justices voiced concern that the deal would
shield Purdue's wealthy Sackler family owners from lawsuits over
their role in a deadly opioid epidemic while also worrying that
scuttling it could harm victims. Purdue's owners under the
settlement would receive immunity in exchange for paying up to
$6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by states,
hospitals, people who had become addicted and others who have
sued the company over misleading marketing of OxyContin. A
ruling is expected by the end of June.
HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS
The court, delving into the U.S. homelessness crisis, on
April 22 heard arguments over the legality of local laws used
against people who camp on public streets and parks in a case
involving a southwest Oregon city's anti-vagrancy policy. The
city of Grants Pass appealed a lower court's ruling that found
that the ordinances - which make it illegal to camp on
sidewalks, streets, parks or other public places - violate the
Constitution's Eighth Amendment prohibition against "cruel and
unusual" punishment. A decision is expected by the end of June.
STARBUCKS UNIONIZATION
The court on April 23 heard arguments in a challenge by
Starbucks ( SBUX ) to a judicial order requiring the coffee
chain to rehire seven employees at a Memphis cafe who were fired
as they pursued unionization. The company appealed a lower
court's approval of an injunction sought by the U.S. National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ordering reinstatement of the
workers. The case could make it harder to quickly halt labor
practices challenged as unfair under federal law while the NLRB
resolves complaints. A decision is expected by the end of June.
WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION LAWSUITS
The court on April 17 made it easier to bring certain
workplace discrimination lawsuits in a ruling that gave a boost
to a St. Louis police officer who claimed she was transferred to
an undesirable new role because of her sex. At issue was whether
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars workplace
bias, requires employees to prove that discrimination caused
them significant harm such as a pay cut, demotion or job loss.
The unanimous ruling disapproved that approach.
TAX ON FOREIGN EARNINGS
The court on Dec. 5 heard arguments in a challenge to a tax
on Americans who have invested in certain foreign corporations.
The justices appeared skeptical of the bid by a retired couple
from Washington state who appealed after a lower court rejected
their challenge to the tax on foreign company earnings, even
though those profits have not been distributed to shareholders.
A ruling is expected by the end of June.
'TRUMP TOO SMALL' TRADEMARK
The court on Nov. 1 heard arguments over whether a
California attorney's trademark for the phrase "Trump Too Small"
- a cheeky criticism of the former president - should have been
granted by the U.S. Trademark Office. The justices appeared
skeptical that the attorney can own a federal trademark covering
the phrase. The office, which denied the trademark, appealed a
lower court's decision that the attorney's First Amendment
protections for his criticism of public figures outweighed the
agency's concerns about Trump's rights. A ruling is expected by
the end of June.
(Compiled by Andrew Chung and John Kruzel; Editing by Will
Dunham)