The Supreme Court opens its new term Oct. 2 and will quickly take up major disputes involving President Trump, immigration policy, religious liberty, gay rights and partisan gerrymandering.
Here are the major questions before the court this fall:
Trump and the travel ban
Can President Trump temporarily block the entry of foreign travelers from six majority Muslim nations because they pose a “heightened risk” of terrorism, or is his order unconstitutional because it reflects bias against Muslims and is not based on evidence of a true security threat?
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California and the 4th Circuit in Virginia struck down Trump’s order, but in late June, the Supreme Court revived it in part. It also agreed to hear Trump’s claim of broad power over immigration.
But the case may be dismissed as moot because the time limits in the order will have expired by the time arguments are presented.
Trump vs. Hawaii and Trump vs. IRAP is scheduled to be heard Oct. 10.
Religious liberty and gay rights
Can a baker refuse to make a wedding cake for a gay couple because of his Christian beliefs, or can the state require that businesses open to the public provide “full and equal” services to customers without regard to their sexual orientation?
Colorado and 20 other states have civil rights laws that protect gays and lesbians. Trump administration lawyers have urged the court to carve out a “narrow” exception based on the freedom of speech for cake makers, photographers, musicians and others whose work is “expressive.”
Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado is due to be heard in December.
Partisan gerrymandering
When one party controls a state’s government, can it draw election district maps to “entrench” itself in the majority for another decade, even in elections where most voters cast ballots for other party?
Since the 1980s, the justices have frowned on “partisan gerrymandering” as unfair and corrupt, but they have not agreed on a rule for when an election map tilts so far as to be unconstitutional. By contrast, the court has outlawed racial gerrymandering, but often the lines between racial and partisan gerrymandering are blurred.
The justices will tackle partisan gerrymandering again in a Wisconsin case, Gill vs. Whitford, to be heard on Oct. 3.
Cellphone tracking and privacy
Can the FBI and police obtain cellphone data to track the movements of a crime suspect because such phone company-held records are not private, or must they first obtain a search warrant based on probable cause from a magistrate?
Privacy advocates on the right and left urge the court to strictly protect these records. However, investigators say they sometimes need the data to track travel patterns to identify a crime suspect or a terrorist.
Carpenter vs. United States is to be heard in December.
Employees and group arbitration
Can companies require workers to waive their rights to join any class or collective action against their employer and instead resolve disputes as individuals through binding arbitration?
Obama administration lawyers told the court these arbitration clauses were illegal under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which said workers had a right to join a union or take “other concerted activities.” In June, the Trump administration switched sides and said these waivers could be enforced under the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925.
The court will hear the arguments on Oct. 2 in NLRB vs. Murphy Oil and two related cases.
Jail before deportation
Can noncitizens who are slated for deportation be kept in jail indefinitely, or must they be given a bail hearing after six months?
Acting on a class-action suit in Los Angeles, the 9th Circuit Court said such detainees have a right to bail after six months if they pose no danger to the public and are unlikely to flee. The justices heard the government’s appeal in November, shortly after Trump’s election, but could not reach a decision.
The case, Jennings vs. Rodriguez, will be argued again Oct. 3, and this time Justice Neil M. Gorsuch can cast the deciding vote.
Voting rolls and purges
Can states remove voters from their rolls if they fail to vote for two years and do not respond to notices over four years?
The 6th Circuit Court agreed with civil rights lawyers who said this procedure in Ohio violated a federal law that says a voter’s registration may not be canceled for “a failure to vote.”
Husted vs. A. Philip Randolph Institute is to be heard on November 8.
Sports betting
Can New Jersey allow sports betting at its casinos and racetracks, or must it abide by a federal law that prohibits gambling on sports, except in Nevada?
The state has lost repeatedly in lower courts, but the justices will hear its appeal in Christie vs. NCAA.
Public employees and union fees
Can states require teachers and other unionized public employees to pay a fee to cover the cost of collective bargaining?
The court upheld such laws 40 years ago, but anti-union lawyers say these forced payments violate the free-speech rights of workers.
The court was set to decide this issue in 2016 in the case of a California teacher, but after Justice Antonin Scalia died, the justices were split 4-4.
An Illinois child care worker has a new appeal pending this month. The court has not announced whether it will hear Janus vs. AFSCME.
Job discrimination and gay employees
Does the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids employers from discriminating against employees because of their sex, also forbid firing people because of their sexual orientation?
Earlier this year, the 7th Circuit Court in Chicago broke new ground when it ruled that federal law forbids job discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta reached the opposite conclusion in a case involving a Georgia woman who was pushed out of her job as a hospital security guard because she was a lesbian.
Earlier this month she appealed and asked the justices to decide the question in this term. They have not announced whether they will hear Evans vs. Georgia Regional Hospital.
