Chris Lange, FISM News
A new Supreme Court term begins today and promises to be another highly scrutinized and polarizing one as justices weigh in on several hot-button issues including affirmative action, religious freedom, the scope of the power of courts and government bureaucracies, and voting rights.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson makes her debut on the bench this term. The Biden-nominated justice makes history as the first black female justice of the high court and joins the liberal bloc to replace retired Justice Stephen Breyer.
The term also begins with no word on who leaked a draft opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case that overturned federal abortion rights and sparked leftist attacks on pro-life centers, illegal protests at conservative justices’ homes that continue to this day, and the near-assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The term kicks off today with oral arguments in a case that could limit the scope of a landmark federal environmental law in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. The agency barred the Sacketts, an Idaho couple, from building a home on land they owned unless they obtained a permit under the Clean Water Act. The EPA asserted that the land contained “navigable waters” under the act, though the property did not contain any streams, rivers, or lakes.
Justices consider affirmative action and race
In one of the new term’s highest profile cases, the court will determine whether race should be a factor in determining admissions to higher-education universities under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
In Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Students for Fair Admissions v. The University of North Carolina, plaintiffs allege that the universities engaged in racial discrimination in their respective admissions policies which overwhelmingly harmed Asian-American and white applicants.
Race is also at the center of Merrill v. Milligan and Merrill v. Caster, for which the justices will determine whether Alabama’s 2021 redistricting plan for its congressional districts violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The SCOTUS previously stayed a lower federal court’s order requiring the map to be redrawn.
Religious freedom and same-sex marriage
Religious freedom will feature prominently in this year’s case lineup as the court determines whether the government has the authority to force businesses or individuals with religious objections to provide wedding-related services to same-sex couples.
303 Creative LLC v. Elenis centers around whether a graphic designer’s refusal to create a website for a same-sex wedding is protected free speech. In a similar case, the Supreme Court previously sided with religious objector and Colorado baker Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. However, that case included a controversial admission of hostile statements about Phillips from state officials, which resulted in a limited application of the precedent by some courts.
Judicial activism on the docket
The justices will also hear arguments in a case about judicial activism. North Carolina’s Supreme Court is accused of going well beyond the scope of its authority by creating its own congressional map in Moore v. Harper.
This article was partially informed by Reuters, Fox News, and Brennan Center for Justice reports.