SCOTUS 2021 Term Cases To Watch
Here are 5 decisions to keep an eye on, with massive stakes for our health, safety, climate, and more.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
What’s At Stake
The Supreme Court will weigh in on a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks. Any ruling upholding Mississippi’s ban would gut the central holding of Roe v. Wade and our right to make fundamental decisions about our lives, our futures, and our families.
Why It Matters
The Supreme Court is poised to eliminate abortion access for millions of Americans by allowing states to ban abortion, overturning half a century of precedent protecting reproductive rights. In a leaked draft opinion made public last month, the right-wing extremists in charge of the Supreme Court showed us exactly how they are planning to overturn Roe.
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Supreme Court set to Eviscerate Abortion Rights
Press Call: Coalition of Abortion Rights Groups Announces Support for Court Expansion
Jezebel | Democrats, Abortion Rights Groups Say It's Time to Expand the Supreme Court
Biden v. Texas
What’s At Stake
The Supreme Court will decide whether to force the Biden administration to continue the Trump administration’s dangerous and inhumane “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP), requiring immigrants return to Mexico as they await their immigration proceedings and exposing them to physical harm, illness, and dangerous surroundings in shelters and squalid encampments.
Why It Matters
The Supreme Court is poised to once again expose thousands of asylum-seekers to inhumane conditions, usurp the Biden administration’s ability to conduct foreign policy, and strike yet another blow to American democracy. By forcing the continuation of this cruel policy — widely referred to as “Remain in Mexico” — the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority would be imposing a second Trump term from the bench despite his decisive loss in the 2020 election. It would also strike a crippling blow to separation of powers by encroaching on the executive branch’s authority to set foreign policy.
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The Supreme Court May Entrench Trump's Cruel "Remain in Mexico" Policy
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen
What’s At Stake
The Supreme Court will decide whether to strike down laws regulating concealed carry licenses, and could go as far as opening the floodgates to litigation challenging restrictions on assault weapons, large magazines, age requirements, and “every gun law on the books.”
Why It Matters
The Supreme Court is poised to gut state gun violence prevention laws against the democratic will of most Americans — and just weeks after horrific massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde. A decision denying the State of New York the discretion to issue concealed handgun licenses would also set a dangerous precedent regarding states’ ability to regulate access to firearms.
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The Supreme Court is Poised to Upend Gun Violence Prevention Laws
West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency
What’s At Stake
The Supreme Court will decide whether to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Why It Matters
Revoking the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions would be a major setback in the fight against climate change. Our current climate crisis requires swift and bold action from government regulators to curb carbon emissions and reduce greenhouse gasses. But stripping the EPA’s authority to enact such rules would cause widespread harm and set a dangerous precedent regarding administrative law that could hamstring environmental protections and ripple through other executive agencies of our government to undermine the federal government’s ability to function overall. Workers’ protections, food safety, Wall Street regulations, and more could all be thrown into question.
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Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
What’s At Stake
The Supreme Court will decide whether to upend long standing legal principles providing that school-sponsored religion violates the Establishment Clause, and force Bremerton School District to allow a coach to pray at the 50-yard line after football games, creating a coercive environment for students.
Why It Matters
The Constitutional guarantee of the separation of church and state protects religious freedom for all of us. But the Court is primed to perpetuate religious favoritism if a ruling is issued in favor of Kennedy. No student should have to be made to feel like an outsider by the institution that is charged with nurturing them. Decisions about whether, when, and how to pray should be made by students and their families — not teachers, coaches, or school officials.
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Factsheet: Supreme Court is a Danger to the Separation of Church and State