Supreme Court deciding what will make the cut
WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Supreme Court will decide some of the 29 remaining cases on its docket in this final month of the term — a list that includes a number of potential blockbusters involving everything from President Trump’s travel ban to Americans’ cellphone privacy rights.
The flurry of decisions comes at a time when the court has granted only 18 cases so far to review next term, spurring speculation that Justice Anthony Kennedy may soon retire and set off one of the most contentious Senate confirmation battles in recent history.
Kennedy will likely be the deciding vote in a number of decisions handed down before the term ends at the end of the month. Here’s a look at the cases and issues at stake:
• Trump’s travel ban. President Trump’s tweets were a topic of keen interest among some of the justices during oral arguments as they considered whether the travel ban is an unconstitutional act of religious discrimination. The extent to which Trump’s statements, on social media and elsewhere, could be a critical factor as the court weighs whether the order itself is an impermissible attempt to bar Muslims from the country.
• Voting rights cases. The 2020 elections could be rocked by several rulings by the courts. The justices will decide the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering — congressional map-drawing designed to strengthen or weaken a particular party’s control. It will also decide whether states can purge voter registration data of those who don’t vote regularly, or ban apparel featuring political messages within “buffer zones” around polling places.
• Same-sex marriage, religious freedom and free speech. The right of same-sex couples not to be discriminated against is pitted against claims of religious freedom and free speech rights violations by vendors who don’t believe in gay marriage ceremonies in one pending high-profile case. The decision is likely to be a lightning rod in the lead-up to the midterm elections as Trump and Republicans place a renewed focus on religious freedom protections and Democrats push for anti-discrimination laws that protect the rights of the LGBT community and other marginalized groups.
• Cellphone data privacy. The decision of whether police can obtain cellphone location data without a warrant will be a major marker in jurisprudence on just how much privacy Americans enjoy in their personal devices.
• Public unions. The court will also decide whether public sector unions can require nonunion members to pay agency fees — a ruling that could significantly impact the political strength of unions.