Dramatic Supreme Court term begins
The U.S. Supreme Court opens its new term next week in a swirl of uncertainty, amid a new justice’s politicized confirmation battle and a divisive presidential election the court might have to resolve.
The death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ushered in President Donald Trump’s third nomination to the court, Amy Coney Barrett, and the prospect she may tip the balance further toward conservatives in time to decide election-related disputes.
The docket already is a meaty one, highlighted by a bid to overturn the Affordable Care Act, a high-stakes clash between religious and gay rights, a battle stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and multibillion-dollar disputes involving Google, Oracle Corp., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
On top of that could come a showdown over the Nov. 3 presidential election, with Barrett in place if Senate Republicans meet their aggressive timetable for confirmation. The court already is being hit with preelection skirmishes over the rules for casting and counting ballots in the contest between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.
“Everybody’s kind of on a hair trigger on both sides of the aisle filing litigation this year about the election,” said Paul Smith, vice president of the Campaign Legal Center, which advocates for expanding voting rights.
Trump has spent months laying the groundwork for a legal fight, claiming despite limited evidence that mail-in voting will produce widespread fraud. Though the court can operate with only eight justices, Trump says it needs nine in time to decide any election cases.
“I’m counting on them to look at the ballots, definitely,” Trump said at Tuesday night’s debate. “I hope we don’t need them in terms of the election itself.”
Election-related cases could arrive in many forms. This week Pennsylvania Republicans asked the court for an emergency order blocking the state from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.
More than 200 lawsuits have already been filed testing how to hold an election during a pandemic, with key fights raging in the pivotal states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Florida.
After the election, one side could challenge state results and create a sequel to Bush v. Gore, the 2000 Supreme Court case that put Republican George W. Bush in the White House by blocking continuing Florida recounts. Or the court may have to referee the electoral vote count fight that formally determines who is sworn in Jan. 20.
In a concession to the coronavirus, the justices will again hear arguments by telephone with live audio release, at least in October. The court held remote arguments for the first time in its history in May.