WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court docket is headed into its closing week with a few quarter of the instances heard this yr nonetheless undecided, together with ones that would reshape the legislation on every little thing from abortion to social media.
The justices are additionally nonetheless weighing whether or not former President Donald Trump is immune from prison prosecution within the election interference case in opposition to him, roughly two months after listening to arguments.
The courtroom heard 61 instances this time period, and 15 stay unresolved.
Right here’s a take a look at a number of the main undecided instances:
Presidential immunityDonald Trump is arguing that former presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts they took in workplace and that the indictment he faces on costs of election interference should be dismissed.
The Supreme Court docket has beforehand dominated that former presidents can’t be sued in civil instances for what they did in workplace, but it surely has by no means weighed in on prison immunity.
The timing of the choice could also be as necessary as the end result. Trump’s trial in Washington, D.C., could not happen earlier than the November election, even when the courtroom guidelines he’s not immune.
Jan. 6, 2021A former Pennsylvania police officer is difficult the validity of obstruction costs introduced in opposition to tons of of people that took half within the violent assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump faces the identical cost of obstructing an official continuing.
The problem is whether or not a legislation meant to discourage tampering with paperwork sought in investigations can be utilized in opposition to the Capitol rioters.
Emergency abortionThere’s a second abortion case on the docket this yr: whether or not docs can present that medical process in emergencies in states that banned abortion after the courtroom overturned Roe v. Wade.
In a case out of Idaho, the Biden administration says abortions should be allowed in emergencies the place a lady’s well being is at critical threat.
The state argues that its strict abortion ban does enable abortions to avoid wasting a lady’s life, and doesn’t have to broaden exceptions for well being dangers.
HomelessnessProbably the most important Supreme Court docket case in many years on homelessness facilities on whether or not individuals will be banned from sleeping outdoor when shelter area is missing.
A San Francisco-based appeals courtroom determination mentioned that quantities to merciless and strange punishment.
Leaders from California and throughout the West say that the ruling makes it more durable for them to control homeless encampments encroaching on sidewalks and different public locations.
Advocates say it will criminalize homelessness simply as rising prices have pushed the variety of individuals with out a everlasting place to reside to document ranges.
ChevronThe justices might overturn a 40-year-old determination that has been cited 1000’s of instances in federal courtroom instances and used to uphold rules on the surroundings, public well being, office security and shopper protections. The choice colloquially referred to as Chevron calls on judges to defer to federal regulators when the phrases of a statute are usually not crystal clear. The choice has lengthy been focused by conservative and enterprise pursuits who say Chevron robs judges of their authority and provides an excessive amount of energy to regulators.
Social mediaThree instances stay unresolved on the intersection of social media and authorities.
Two instances contain social media legal guidelines in Texas and Florida that may restrict how Fb, TikTok, X, YouTube and different social media platforms regulate content material posted by their customers. Whereas the main points differ, each legal guidelines aimed to deal with conservative complaints that the social media corporations have been liberal-leaning and censored customers based mostly on their viewpoints, particularly on the political proper.
Within the third case, Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration over how far the federal authorities can go to fight controversial social media posts on matters together with COVID-19 and election safety. A federal appeals courtroom sided with the states to find that administration officers unconstitutionally coerced the platforms to restrict conservative factors of view.
Purdue PharmaThe Supreme Court docket controls the destiny of a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that may allocate billions of {dollars} to fight the opioid epidemic, but in addition present a authorized defend for members of the Sackler household who personal the corporate. The settlement has been on maintain since final summer time after the Supreme Court docket agreed to weigh in.
Air air pollutionRepublican-led, energy-producing states and the metal trade need the courtroom to place the Environmental Safety Company’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan on maintain whereas authorized challenges proceed. The plan goals to guard downwind states that obtain undesirable air air pollution from different states.
SECOne other necessary regulatory case might strip the SEC of a serious software in preventing securities fraud and have far-reaching results on different regulatory companies. The courtroom is being requested to rule that individuals dealing with civil fraud complaints have the precise to a jury trial in federal courtroom.
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