5 Upcoming Supreme Court Cases To Watch Out For

What's the story?

• The U.S. Supreme Court formally starts a new term this week. A full docket lies ahead, with critical cases touching on the Second Amendment, gerrymandering, the power of federal agencies, free speech, and more. 
• Here's a look at the known upcoming cases to be aware of this term. 

Second Amendment: United States v. Rahimi

• In a previous case, a 5th Circuit decision invalidated a federal law banning the possession of guns for anyone who has received a domestic violence restraining order. The court will face the question of whether gun regulation has to be analogous to those at the time of the founding or even the 14th Amendment. 
• Duke law professor Joseph Blocker said regarding the case:

"Courts have really struggled to find meaningful historical guidance about the constitutionality of modern gun laws like those regulating high-capacity magazines or guns on the subway. Rahimi gives the justices a chance to clarify that analogizing from history isn't a recipe for anachronism."

Gerrymandering: Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP

• Justices will consider congressional redistricting plans created by South Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature, which civil rights advocates say proves illegal racial gerrymandering. The case comes after the court ordered Alabama to redraw the state's congressional map to account for the Black population, which makes up 27% of state residents. 
• In this year's case, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is challenging the state's congressional District 1 in Charleston County. The person who created the map testified that he was instructed to make the district "more Republican-leaning."

Federal agencies: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

• The court will decide this term whether to overturn the power of federal agencies, which would impact how the government addresses significant issues like climate change, immigration, public health, and more.  
• The justices will reconsider Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, a 1984 case that set factors to determine when courts should defer to a government agency's interpretation of the law. 
• Kate Shaw, professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, laid out the existential questions that this case asks:

"Will our government retain the power and capacity to respond to the most pressing issues of our time? Or will the court continue to incapacitate the administrative state, limiting its authority and substituting the court's own views and preferences for those of expert agencies?"

Social media: Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton

• The court is again debating whether states should control social media company operations. The case focuses on social media laws in Texas and Florida; however, if the justices agree to give states that power, a door will open for state legislation to require social media platforms to treat content within specific jurisdictions. 
• This case could also make it harder for platforms to remove what they determine as misinformation or hate speech. Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute, said:

"These cases could completely reshape the digital public sphere. The question of what limits the First Amendment imposes on legislatures' ability to regulate social media is immensely important – for speech, and for democracy as well."

Abortion

• While the case isn't yet on the calendar, the court is expected to hear a major abortion case, focusing on the availability of mifepristone, a medication used in many U.S. abortions. 

How do you feel about the upcoming cases?

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo credit: iStock/SeanPavonePhoto)