Supreme Court Considers Racial Discrimination, Union Dues, Abortion, Immigration, and Redistricting SCOTUS DOCKET April 4, 2016 | Justin C. Brown and Owen Minott Jr. Sources: SCOTUS Blog - Case Pages, December 2015; Kevin Carty, “The Ten Supreme Court Cases You Need to Know This Term,” Morning Consult, October 6, Select Supreme Court Cases During the Term CaseStatusIssues at StakeDecision United States v. Texas Petition Granted Immigration: Can states sue the federal government over changes to immigration enforcement, did the Obama administration follow proper notice-and-comment procedures before implementing new executive actions on immigration, and are those executive actions constitutional? Currier v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Pending Petition Abortion: Does the Due Process Clause require Mississippi to exempt physicians at the only abortion clinic in the state from complying with health and safety regulation that applies to other outpatient surgical facilities? Evenwel v. AbbottArgued December 8, 2015 Redistricting: Did the three-judge district court correctly hold the “one-person, one-vote” principle by allowing states to use total population and not requiring states to use voter population when apportioning state districts? In a unanimous decision, the Court ruled that that states may use the total population in drawing legislative districts. Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin Argued December 9, 2015 Affirmative Action: Can the Fifth Circuit’s re-endorsement of the Univ. of Texas at Austin’s use of racial preferences in undergraduate admissions be sustained under the Court’s interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause? Foster v. ChatmanArgued November 2, 2015 Racial Discrimination: Did the Georgia courts fail to recognize race discrimination during the conviction of Timothy Foster when the prosecutor struck four African-American jurors from the jury pool after claiming race-neutral reasons?

CaseStatusIssue at StakeDecision Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association Argued on January 11, 2016 Union Dues: Is it constitutional to compel public employees to submit union dues and do the union dues violate the employee’s freedom of speech? Because of a 4-4 tie, the case was deadlocked; a lower court 2014 ruling allowing mandatory union fees stands Hurst v. FloridaDecided January 12, 2016 Death Penalty: Does Florida’s death sentencing scheme violate the Sixth or Eighth Amendment? Florida’s death penalty scheme is unconstitutional because it does not uphold the Sixth Amendment’s jury trial guarantee Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell Argument Date TBD ACA and Religion: Is it lawful, as part of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, for the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged to refuse to provide contraception to their workers through the Affordable Care Act? Montgomery v. Louisiana Argued October 13, 2015 Sentencing: Should a previous ruling, that decided mandatory life sentences for juvenile offenders amount to cruel and unusual punishment, apply retroactively? Previous ruling applies retroactively, mandatory life sentences for juveniles amounts to cruel and unusual punishment Whole Women’s Health v. Cole Set for Argument on March 2, 2016 Abortion: When does a new abortion law impose an ‘undue burden’ on a woman’s right to end their pregnancies? Supreme Court Revisits Death Sentencing and Healthcare March 30, 2016 | Justin C. Brown and Owen Minott Jr. Sources: SCOTUS Blog - Case Pages, December 2015; Kevin Carty, “The Ten Supreme Court Cases You Need to Know This Term,” Morning Consult, October 6, 2015; Adam Liptik, “Supreme Court Strikes Down Part of Florida Death Penalty,” New York Times, January 12, 2016; Lawrence Hurley, “U.S. Court Hands Win to Unions, Splits 4-4 Without Scalia,” Reuters, March 30, SCOTUS DOCKET Select Supreme Court Cases During the Term