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Live TV

Politics


ABORTION, GUNS AND MORE: THESE ARE THE SUPREME COURT’S REMAINING CASES

By John Fritze, CNN
Updated 9:26 AM EDT, Sun June 2, 2024
Bonnie Cash/Reuters
A demonstrator holds a sign outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear
arguments on former President Trump's claim of presidential immunity over
criminal charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election
results in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2024.
CNN  — 

The Supreme Court is turning toward the final, frenzied weeks of its term,
readying potential blockbuster decisions on abortion, guns and former President
Donald Trump’s claims of absolute immunity.

The decisions will land rapidly at a tense time for the 6-3 conservative-liberal
court – just before a historic presidential election that has been heavily
influenced by its decision two years ago to overturn Roe v. Wade. Public opinion
of the court remains at record lows. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito,
meanwhile, is facing sharp blowback over two controversial flags raised at his
homes in Virginia and New Jersey.

Here are some of the remaining cases to be decided before July.

See more
See more



TRUMP CLAIMS ‘ABSOLUTE’ IMMUNITY

Trump’s appeal for immunity from special counsel Jack Smith’s election
subversion charges landed at the Supreme Court late in the term and instantly
overshadowed most of the docket.

Trump argued that without immunity, presidents would be hamstrung in office,
always fearful of being second guessed by a zealous prosecutor after leaving the
White House. That position appeared to have some purchase on the conservative
Supreme Court during oral arguments in April, though it didn’t appear Trump
would be able to get Smith’s case tossed entirely.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP/File
In this file photograph, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr., left, and his
wife Martha-Ann Alito, pay their respects at the casket of Reverend Billy Graham
at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on February 28,
2018. An upside-down American flag, a symbol associated with Donald Trump's
false claims of election fraud, was displayed outside of Alito's home days after
Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, The New York Times reports. "It was
briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable
and personally insulting language on yard signs," Alito said in an emailed
statement to the newspaper.

Alito tells lawmakers he will not recuse from Supreme Court cases despite flag
controversy

The immunity case, appears likely to come down to whether Trump’s post-election
actions were “official” – that is, steps he was taking as president – or whether
they were “private,” which would not likely receive immunity.

An appeals court in Washington sided against Trump.


ABORTION FOR HEALTH IN EMERGENCIES

The Supreme Court will decide what happens when pregnant women show up to the
hospital with medical emergencies in states that have strict bans on abortion.
An Idaho law bars doctors from performing abortions unless the mother’s life is
at risk, but it makes no exception if that she would suffer long-term health
consequences.

The Biden administration argues a federal law requires hospitals to perform
abortions if the health of a mother is at stake, and an appeals court agreed.

The decision in Moyle v. US will place abortion access on the forefront again
this summer just as Americans begin tuning into the presidential election.


ACCESS TO ABORTION PILL MIFEPRISTONE

Another major abortion case deals with whether the US Food and Drug
Administration overstepped its authority by expanding access to the abortion
pill mifepristone, such as by allowing the drug to be dispensed without
in-person clinical visits.

Access to mifepristone has become particularly important after the court
overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago and many states banned the procedure in
clinical settings. Medication abortions account for nearly two-thirds of all
abortions in the US, according to some estimates.

The appeal was filed by anti-abortion doctors who say their practices have been
affected because they must treat women who had complications from the drug. The
FDA and outside medical groups have stressed that mifepristone is safe. The
doctors have faced scrutiny over whether they have been harmed in a way that
gives them standing to sue.

See more
See more

03:41 - Source: CNN
Supreme Court action on mifepristone demonstrates abortion care is all about the
courtroom

The lead medical group in the suit, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, was
incorporated in Amarillo, Texas, months before it sued. The location allowed the
group to choose a court where it was guaranteed to be assigned to conservative
US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.

Kacsmaryk invalidated the FDA’s decades-old approval of mifepristone. The 5th US
Circuit Court of Appeals limited that decision but rejected some of the FDA’s
efforts to expand access to the drug. The Supreme Court then put that ruling on
hold last year, maintaining the status quo while it decided the case.


JANUARY 6 RIOTERS SEEK TO SHORTEN SENTENCES

A former Pennsylvania police officer who rioted at the US Capitol on January 6,
2021, challenged federal obstruction charges filed against him in a case that
could also affect Trump. The former president was charged with violating the
same obstruction law for different reasons.

The case was filed by Joseph Fischer, who was charged with multiple crimes for
pushing his way into the Capitol after attending Trump’s rally outside the White
House on January 6. Fischer’s attorney told the justices that prosecutors went
too far by charging his client with “obstructing” an official proceeding, a
crime he said Congress intended to be used to prohibit the destruction of
evidence.

Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post/Getty Images
In this December 2019 photo, Judge David Tatel, center, listens to arguments as
local high school students observe a reenactment of a landmark Supreme court
case at the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC.

Former federal judge blasts John Roberts in new book and says Ruth Bader
Ginsburg was annoyed by pressure to retire

Some 350 rioters were charged with the crime, which can add up to 20 years to a
prison sentence.

Prosecutors say the charge should apply to the January 6 cases because the plain
meaning of the words “obstruct” an “official proceeding” covers the attack that
interrupted Congress’ counting of ballots to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 win.
Critics say the law was intended to prevent evidence tampering before a trial or
investigation.


GUNS FOR DOMESTIC ABUSERS

In a significant Second Amendment case, the justices must weigh the
constitutionality of a federal law that bars people who are the subject of
domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns.

A Texas man, Zackey Rahimi, was indicted for violating that law following a
series of shootings, including one in which police said he fired into the air at
a Whataburger restaurant after a friend’s credit card was declined.

Rahimi’s lawyers say a Supreme Court decision two years ago in New York State
Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen meant the domestic violence law cannot be
squared with the Constitution because it has no historical analogue. A 6-3
majority in Bruen said gun regulations must be “consistent with this nation’s
historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

An appeals court in Louisiana sided with Rahimi.

See more



GOVERNMENT REGULATION OF FACEBOOK

The Supreme Court is confronting a series of cases at the intersection of the
First Amendment and social media. Perhaps the most notable are two suits
challenging laws enacted in Florida and Texas aimed at stopping social media
giants like Facebook and X from throttling conservative views.

The state laws ban online platforms from removing posts that express opinions,
such as political content. The Republican governors who signed the laws said
they were needed to keep the social media platforms from discriminating against
conservatives.

Two trade associations representing the social media companies sued, claiming
they violated the First Amendment. One federal appeals court in Atlanta sided
with the companies and against Florida. Another, in New Orleans, allowed the
Texas law to take effect. The Supreme Court paused implementation of the Texas
law in 2022.

The cases are Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton.


CLEANING UP ONLINE ‘DISINFORMATION’

The justices must decide if the White House and federal agencies such as the FBI
may urge social media platforms to take down content the government views as
misinformation, or whether those efforts violate the First Amendment.

Biden officials have for years tried to persuade social media platforms to take
down posts featuring misinformation about vaccines, the Covid-19 pandemic and
the 2020 election, among other things.

Republican officials in two states – Missouri and Louisiana – and five social
media users sued over that practice in 2022, arguing the administration did far
more than “persuade” the tech giants to take down a few deceptive items. The
case is Murthy v. Missouri.


GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS THREATENED

A series of cases this term challenge the power of federal agencies to approve
regulations – or enforce them. Among the most significant are two appeals filed
by Atlantic herring fishermen. The captains are challenging a Department of
Commerce regulation that requires them to pay the salary of federal observers
they bring on board to monitor the catch and ensure the crew follows other
fishing regulations.

Getty Images, AP
United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch and his mother, EPA
director Anne Gorsuch Burford.

Neil Gorsuch has a grudge against federal agencies. He holds their fate in his
hands

The court is being asked to overturn a 1984 precedent – Chevron v. Natural
Resources Defense Council – that required courts to give deference to federal
agencies when creating regulations based on an ambiguous law. Conservatives have
long sought to rein in regulatory authority, arguing Washington has too much
control over industry.

The justices have been incrementally diminishing federal power for years, but
the new case gives the court an opportunity to take a much broader stroke.

Critics fear a ruling for the fishermen would threaten a vast swath of other
federal regulations aimed at protecting the environment, public health and
workplace safety. The cases are Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and
Relentless v. Department of Commerce. Lower courts sided with the government in
both cases.

This headline has been updated.

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