SCOTUS lineup won't be a snoozer
It’s a brand new year for the U.S. Supreme Court, but the mood isn’t exactly festive.
As SCOTUS begins its October 2019 Term, the slate of cases is rife with controversial and potentially life-altering issues — employment discrimination, religion in schools, gun rights, and immigration, to name a few. That’s just business as usual for these nine justices who are asked to consider more than 10,000 cases a year.
Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution provides “the judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” Section 2 defines the Supreme Court’s “jurisdiction,” or its authority to hear a particular case as:
1. Issues arising under the U.S. Constitution, other federal laws (U.S. Code), or U.S. treaties
2. Cases between two states
3. Cases between one state and citizen(s) of another, or between citizens of different states
4. Admiralty/maritime cases
5. Cases “affecting” ambassadors, consuls, and “other public ministers”
6. Cases between same-state citizens claiming lands under grants of different states
7. Cases between a state/its citizens, and a foreign nation/its citizens
There are exceptions (e.g., involving ambassadors), but otherwise the Supremes don’t have “original” jurisdiction, meaning cases can’t start there. The vast majority come up through the lower federal courts, then get to the Supreme Court upon final appeal, if they go that far.
Court cases are never simple; many involve multiple issues of both state and federal law. That doesn’t mean state courts can’t apply federal laws to federal issues and decide such cases; they can. But generally if one of those issues falls under federal jurisdiction, the case may be brought in federal court. Where to file a case (when options exist) is a strategic decision, as federal and state laws can be more or less favorable to particular parties and facts.
Some of the questions SCOTUS is considering this term are:
Does current civil rights law protect gay and transgender people from job discrimination (multiple cases)?
Can the “Dreamer” or DACA program be killed by a policy change, effectively ousting 800,000 people brought here as young children (multiple cases)?
Can a state exclude religious private schools from a public scholarship program (Espinoza v. Mont. Dept. of Revenue)?
How severely can a state limit abortion access, and could that lead to Roe v. Wade being overturned (Gee v. June Medical Services)?
Will the right to bear arms be expanded (New York Rifle and Pistol Assoc. v. City of New York)?
Another big case worth watching in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals — affecting at least 24 million people now covered under the Affordable Care Act — is also likely to head to SCOTUS one way or another (Texas v. Azar).
For more on cases in the October 2019 term, click “Merits cases” at Scotusblog.com.
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Sholeh Patrick, J.D. is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at [email protected].