US Supreme Court kicks off divisive new session

SEXUAL minority rights, abortion, immigration and guns – the Supreme Court convenes on Monday to address an incendiary list of cases as the American political scene reaches fever pitch over efforts to impeach US President Donald Trump.

The court’s balance has shifted to the right under Trump, who appointed judges Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh in his first term, and who is now gearing up to fight for re-election next November.

The court kept a low profile during its 2018-2019 sessions after Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation descended into a mud-slinging battle over sexual assault allegations that he strenuously denies.

In its last term, the court “seemed to do everything it could to rise above the partisan rancour, to not be divided along partisan lines”, David Cole, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said.

“This term, it’s going to be harder for the court – they already have cases involving very hot-button, ideologically divided issues,” warned Cole.

With election campaigning ramping up, the court’s rulings will be closely watched by rival political camps.

Conservatives are now seen in the majority among the nine judge s a f t er Kav a naug h’s appointment, and liberals are on the defensive.

In the last election, Trump secured victory after wooing voters with promises to appoint right-wing judges who oppose abortion and defend the right to own guns.

The court will on Tuesday dive into the issue of whether it is legal to fire someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Trump’s Republican administration argues that lawmakers in the past were not addressing gay rights when employment discrimination over “race, colour, religion, sex or national origin” was banned.

LGBTQ campaigners, who won a major victory in 2015 when the court guaranteed the right to gay marriage, are calling on judges to ensure gay and transgender people are covered by the discrimination ban.

What’s the point of gay marriage if “you can get married on Saturday and fired on Monday?” ACLU lawyer Jay Kaplan asked.

The court will also hear a challenge to restrictive abortion law in Louisiana – another flashpoint issue.

The date has not yet been set for when the judges will examine the merits of the 2014 abortion law adopted in Louisiana.

But a decision will come before the end of the court’s ter m i n Ju ne 2020, j u s t months before the presidential election.

The law states that doctors at Louisiana abortion clinics must have admitting privileges at a hospital within 50km.

Abortion rights advocates say the restriction would force the closure of most clinics, but Louisiana says the law is needed because of the risk of a medical complication.

In February, the court issued an injunction blocking the law from taking effect.

Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, sided with the four progressives on the bench – setting the stage for a knifeedge decision..

On November 12, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over Trump’s effort to end the“dreamers” programme that protects immigrants brought into the US illegally as children.

Trump has made a clampdown on immigration a keystone of his presidency.

A “right to bear arms” case due in December could be declared obsolete after New York regulations were amended.

But, with gun violence high on the political agenda, the case has already been a partisan battleground.