The Supreme Court on Monday begаn an annual term that could be the most consequential in decades. Of the 39 cases the Court has so far accepted for review, six already have the attention of the media and the public.
The first and most popular in the U.S. is Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, where the Supreme Court will consider whether the government is forcing a baker to customize the design of a wedding cake to celebrate same-sex marriage violates that Christian’s rights under either the Free Speech Clause or the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, reports Breitbart. Jack Phillips, the owner of the bakery in Colorado, in 2012 refused to make a cake to honor a couple’s same-sex marriage because of religious beliefs. Lower courts ruled in favor of the couple.
The second one is Janus v. AFSCME. Here the Court needs to determine whether forcing government employees to pay union fees that go to collective-bargaining arrangements violates their free-speech rights under the First Amendment. It is expected that the Court sides with the employees. If that happens, it will be a major blow to unions and overrule a major 1977 pro-union case and has implications for unions’ ability to fund left-wing political activities as well.
In the third case, Carpenter v. United States, the Court will decide whether taking the cell phone tower data that records the movements of individual cell phone users without a search warrant violates the Fourth Amendment.
The fourth case is Gill v. Whitford. The Court will have to verify at what point politics play such a large role that the plan is a “political gerrymander” that violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Collins v. Virginia is another interesting case. In it, the Court has to determine whether the Fourth Amendment allows police officers to approach a vehicle parked next to a house on private property without a search warrant. According to the Court, there is an automobile exception to the Constitution’s usual warrant requirement. It is not practical to issue a search warrant every time the police gets near a car, the judges claim. But there is a dilemma weather the exception applies if the automobile is near a home.
And the sixth and maybe the most famous and important case for the rest of the world is Trump v. IRAP. The judges will consider whether President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban from six nations and its cap on refugees entering this country is illegal under federal law or the Constitution’s Establishment Clause.
Be the first to comment