With Final Decisions Ahead, the Supreme Court Is Sharply Divided - Th…

Supreme Court Set to Issue Final Rulings of Current Term

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide this week on several cases involving presidential authority, including whether President Trump can end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents present unlawfully and whether he can remove the chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The term is scheduled to conclude before the justices begin their summer recess.

The court has issued decisions in recent days that divided the justices along consistent lines in several matters. In seven of the nine rulings announced in the past week, the six justices appointed by Republican presidents formed the majority and the three justices appointed by Democratic presidents dissented. Eight additional rulings are expected on Monday and at least one other day this week.

The court has also produced two dozen unanimous opinions during the term that began in October. In one such case, all nine justices agreed to narrow a federal statute that bars individuals who use marijuana from possessing firearms. In another, three of the Republican-appointed justices joined the Democratic-appointed justices to limit the president’s authority to impose tariffs on imports from most trading partners.

Among the remaining cases are challenges to the termination of Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of migrants from more than a dozen countries. Last week the court upheld the administration’s action in a 6-to-3 decision. The court will also address rules for political campaign financing, procedures for counting mail ballots, and the use of historical cellphone location data by law enforcement to identify individuals near crime scenes.

Other pending matters include whether the president may remove Lisa D. Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors based on allegations of mortgage fraud and whether states may bar transgender women from participating on girls’ and women’s athletic teams. The court is also scheduled to rule on whether President Trump may end birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment.

On Thursday the court ruled 6 to 3 that asylum seekers who have not entered U.S. territory may be turned away at the southern border. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the majority opinion. Justice Sonia Sotomayor then read a dissent from the bench that lasted approximately ten minutes. Justice Alito responded from the bench, stating that he had not anticipated the oral dissent and adding points in support of the majority holding. A court spokeswoman later described the exchange as resulting from a misunderstanding after Justice Sotomayor’s chambers had notified Justice Alito of the planned dissent.

In another 6-to-3 ruling last week, the court invalidated a Hawaii statute that required individuals to obtain permission before bringing a concealed firearm onto private property open to the public. The three Democratic-appointed justices dissented.

Justice Sotomayor also dissented, joined in part by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, when the court held that members of the Falun Gong movement could not proceed with claims against a U.S. company under the Alien Tort Statute. The majority concluded that the statute did not authorize the suit. Justice Sotomayor wrote that the decision limited access to federal courts for claims alleging violations of international law.

The court has scheduled additional announcements for the coming days before adjourning for the summer.