The U.S. Supreme Court opened what is likely to be a closely watched and potentially explosive new term on Monday. The dominant theme of this, the sixth year of the Roberts Court, is the power of the Federal government and attempts to define its limits. Although there are some cases already on the docket that are sure to generate a great deal of interest, it’s the cases that the Court has yet to grant certiorari to, but may very well decide to consider, that are generating white-hot attention.
Two cases that very likely will be taken up by the Court this term deal with health care and immigration. The Obama Administration recently requested that the Court step in to settle the constitutionality of the requirement that individuals must purchase health insurance in President Obama’s landmark health care reform. And the State of Arizona’s immigration reform law, which allows police to request proof of citizenship from individuals they stop, could also be eligible for review in time to make this year’s docket. With several other States adopting similar laws, and the U.S. Government stepping in to challenge one such statute in Alabama, the Court will be hard pressed to let the issue sit much longer.
As if that weren’t enough, there are several other hot-button topics the Court may agree to hear in this term, including: recognition of out-of-state gay adoptions, the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, and affirmative action in college admissions. If the Court takes up any of these cases, they will be heard and decided in the middle of a presidential election season, which seems certain to elevate the level of rhetoric on all sides.
Aside from these potential blockbusters, the Court has a variety of cases already on the docket that could have a lasting impact on the legal landscape.
In Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Burlington, the Court will consider the constitutionality of prison strip-searches conducted without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing (this will be the topic of the November issue of Supreme Court Debates).
United States v. Jones deals with whether the police can install GPS tracking devices on a suspect’s vehicle without a judge-issued warrant.
The topic of decency standards on the public airwaves is once again before the Court in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. The justices are being asked to decide wither the FCC’s context-based rules for what can and can’t be broadcast on network television are unconstitutionally overbroad.
In Zivotofsky v. Clinton, the status of the Israeli-occupied territories is at issue, as the American parents of a child born in Jerusalem are trying to overturn a State Department rule that children born in that city can’t have “Israel” listed as their nation of birth on U.S. passports.
Union dues, and how they can be used, is again the subject of the Court’s attention in Knox v. Service Employees International Union. The Court will consider whether State employees have the option to decline having their dues go to fund political activities.
To get a full roundup of all the important cases currently before the Court this term, check out the Inside the Court section of every Supreme Court Debates magazine, where we’ll be following cases of note, from grants of certiorari to their eventual resolution. And, as always, we’ll choose the nine biggest cases this year and provide in-depth coverage, including excerpts from briefs on both sides, lower court decisions, and oral arguments, as well as extensive background information. By the time this term is over, we’ll have covered a lot of ground.
