Supreme Court has no more excuses to avoid controversial issues

But now Trump is an ordinary citizen, the Biden administration is in place, and judges are expected to begin acting on Monday on a bunch of lingering issues they’ve sat down on, including abortion and the issue of the tax. former President Donald Trump. Return.

In addition, the possibility that Roberts will once again be tasked with presiding over Trump’s second impeachment trial looms in the background – although legal experts differ on the role of the chief justice in litigation against an ex- President. Finally, there is a new whisper campaign in town, as progressives wonder if 82-year-old Judge Stephen Breyer might be thinking about retirement as early as this quarter in order to give Biden the chance to fill the seat with a younger judge.

On Friday morning, the judges held their regular private conference call to discuss an impressive array of important issues. On Monday morning, they will publish a list of business that they will resume or reject and also issue at least one opinion.

Trump-related affairs: taxes, Twitter, emoluments

In October, Trump’s personal attorneys came to court with an emergency request: They asked judges to temporarily block a lower court ruling that allows Trump’s tax returns to go to the District Attorney of Manhattan while the legal challenge unfolds.

Last July, a 7-2 court dismissed broad requests for immunity from a state criminal subpoena asking for its financial records. The judges sent the case back to lower courts so that counsel for the President could make more focused objections to the scope of the claims. After more losses, Trump returned to see the judges who continued to say nothing for more than three months.

The First Amendment also challenges his decision in 2017 to block followers on his Twitter account. This case is complicated by the fact that the former president was banned from Twitter in the last days of his presidency and is no longer in office.

Other disputes concern accusations that Trump violated constitutional provisions that prohibit the president from receiving an “emolument” or benefiting from a foreign or national government. This stems from the fact that Trump, unlike other presidents, continued to retain an interest in his companies and he let those companies take money from foreign and domestic governments. Critics said his properties could be frequented by officials in order to gain the favor of the now former president.

Elections

While waiting for polling day, a request from Republicans in Pennsylvania challenges a state Supreme Court ruling that allowed ballots received up to three days after polling day to be counted.

The judges have shown no desire to review the last election, but the case gives them the opportunity to consider issues that could impact future elections, such as the ability of the United States Supreme Court to review decisions of the Supreme State Court on state constitutions.

Abortion

Judges envisioned a tough Mississippi abortion law – blocked by lower courts – that prohibits abortion after 15 weeks that critics say violates nearly 50 years of judicial precedent dating back to Roe v. Wade. Abortion right supporters hope the court dismisses the case, but fear the elevation of Amy Coney Barrett could move the court to the right in the area of ​​abortion rights.

Another case involves a Trump-era regulation that prevents family planning clinics that receive federal funds from providing abortion referrals.

Immigration

On immigration matters, the court has before it a challenge by state and local officials against Trump’s regulations released in August 2019 that make it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing coupons.

Next month, the court is expected to hear arguments regarding funding for Trump’s border wall as well as his policy that requires non-Mexican asylum seekers to stay in Mexico pending hearings in the United States. Biden has already announced cancellations in these areas, and it remains to be seen what his Justice Department does in these cases.

And since he was sworn in, Biden promised to act quickly to pass executive actions. If the past sets a precedent, critics of the new president could act quickly to try to block policies. Such challenges would eventually revert to the High Court, a very different court, which examined the programs of the Obama era.

On the opening day, Jessica Anderson of Heritage Action for America warned that “Conservatives are ready to fight against the destructive policies of the far left.”