Supreme Court begins homestretch in Trump Administration’s shadow
With the arrival of June, the Supreme Court heads into the homestretch of the October 2024-2025 term, which has often been in the shadows of the Justices’ handling of emergency challenges involving President Trump’s numerous executive orders.
The Justices issue the bulk of their decisions in argued cases in June, always with an eye to finishing their work by June 30 or early July. There have been arguments in 62 cases this term, including the unusual May argument on nationwide injunctions against Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship. Of that total, the court has 34 cases awaiting decisions, which is a lot. But it’s rather remarkable how quickly the Justices can clear that docket as the end of June and the beginning of July loom.
The Roberts Court is still dominated by a 6-3 conservative majority. But it is not always a monolithic majority. For example, a 7-2 majority upheld a federal rule regulating so-called “ghost guns” and related products. Only Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the majority opinion by Justice Neil Gorsuch. And Chief Justice John Roberts and Gorsuch joined the court’s three liberal justices in taking a more lenient approach to an immigration deadline for voluntary departures.
If you lined up the Justices on a liberal-to-conservative spectrum, you would have basically a 3-3-3 court. Moving from left to right: Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan; center right: John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett; far right: Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas.
The following 11 cases are worth watching because of their important ramifications or controversial subjects, or both.
1. Trump v. CASA: The Trump Administration challenges the scope of nationwide injunctions blocking his restrictive view of birthright citizenship.
2. United States v. Skrmetti: Tennessee is defending its ban on gender affirming care for transgender minors against an equal protection challenge. Roughly 24 states have similar bans.
3. Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton: Texas law requires age verification for internet access to pornography in this First Amendment case.
4. Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos: The Mexican government seeks to hold gun manufacturers liable for aiding and abetting gun trafficking and drug cartels that have injured Mexico.
5. Mahmoud v. Taylor: Elementary school parents argue their First Amendment free exercise of religion rights are violated by a school district’s failure to give them notice and time to opt out before classroom readings of books on gender and sexuality.
6. Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Commission: Catholic Charities contends its free exercise of religion rights were violated when the state commission denied its request for an exemption from the state unemployment tax.
7. Kennedy v. Braidwood Management: This is a constitutional challenge to the federal taskforce that makes recommendations on preventative care coverage requirements in the Affordable Care Act.
8. Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research: Did Congress violate the Constitution by authorizing the FCC to set the amount that telecommunications providers must contribute to the Universal Service Fund to ensure internet service around the country?
9. Louisiana v. Calais: An important redistricting case will determine whether the creation of a second majority-Black district in the state was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The decision may have national implications for redistricting and the Voting Rights Act, as well as in the next election given the narrow balance of power in both chambers of Congress.
10. Martin v. United States: The Justices will decide whether the Federal Tort Claims Act gives victims of wrong-house raids by law enforcement a path to remedies for their injuries.
11. Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services: A white state worker claims workplace discrimination by her gay supervisor in this “reverse discrimination” case under Title VII, the nation’s major workplace anti-discrimination law.
This list mentions just 11 of the 34 outstanding cases and more could easily be listed as potentially significant. And sometimes even what appear to be minor cases become major ones when the decisions come down.
Whether the Justices will end their term “on time,” may well depend on how much time continues to be consumed by its emergency docket, still dominated by the Trump Administration.
The Justices next will issue decisions on Thursday, June 5.
Marcia Coyle is a regular contributor to Constitution Daily. She was the Supreme Court Correspondent for The National Law Journal and PBS NewsHour who has covered the Supreme Court for more than three decades.