Supreme Court Begins New Term

• The U.S. Supreme Court returns to work next Monday, October 5.

• The court has already scheduled 34 cases for oral argument and will add more in the coming months.

The Supreme Court has been setting its docket for the new term that begins on October 5. So far, there are 34 cases scheduled, and more are expected to be added. The court will take up questions in several important areas.

First Amendment

Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association: The court will consider whether public-sector “agency shop” arrangements violate the First Amendment. These are arrangements where non-union employees are required to pay a fee to a labor union to cover collective bargaining costs. The court also will address whether employees can be required to affirmatively opt out of paying for non-bargaining related speech by the unions, rather than affirmatively consenting to it.

Affirmative Action

Fisher v. University of Texas: This is the second time the court will consider the challenge to the University of Texas’ use of racial preferences in college admissions. In 2013, the court found that the Fifth Circuit failed to apply the appropriate legal standard when it upheld the partial use of race in admissions. The court did not strike down that plan but instead sent it back to the Fifth Circuit to reconsider.

Redistricting

The court will hear two challenges to the creation of legislative districts on the grounds that they violate the principle of “one person, one vote.”

• In Evenwel v. Abbott, the court will hear a challenge to the Texas state legislature’s apportionment of legislative districts. The state used total population rather than voter population to map out districts.
• In Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the court will review the allegedly partisan redistricting decisions of an independent commission.

Death Penalty

The court plans to hear several cases on the death penalty.

• In Hurst v. Florida, the court will assess whether Florida’s sentencing in capital cases violates the Sixth Amendment. In those cases, a judge makes independent findings on aggravating factors to impose a death sentence. Challengers argue that the Constitution requires the jury to make such findings, not the judge.
• In Kansas v. Gleason, the court will assess what must be included in jury instructions in death penalty cases in order to satisfy the Eighth Amendment.
• In Kansas v. Carr, the court will determine whether the Constitution guarantees a right to individualized sentences.

Other Cases the Court Might Hear

In addition to the cases already on the docket, the court will continue to choose other cases over the next few months. Some that would be notable include:

• Currier v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: This case challenges a Mississippi state requirement that doctors who perform abortions must have admitting privileges at a local hospital to handle emergency complications. The court has been asked to determine whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires the Mississippi law to have an exemption for doctors at the state’s sole abortion clinic. Another case from the Fifth Circuit deals with similar legislation in Texas.

• Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell: It is also possible that the court will decide to hear a case challenging the Obama administration’s requirement that religious-affiliated employers provide contraceptive coverage. Courts have been split on this issue. Earlier this month, a unanimous panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit sided with two nonprofit religious organizations challenging the religious accommodation requirement.