As people submitted their votes for Donald Trump in November 2016, many were still skeptical of his policies but were hopeful for at least one good Supreme Court Justice during his term. Not only did he exceed everyone’s expectations as President, but he and the Senate were also able to confirm a whopping three Justices to the highest court in the land. We saw the fruits of that labor over the last couple of months. While SCOTUS dealt a couple of losses to the conservative cause, they handed over quite a few wins as well. Here are some of those notable cases:
DNC v. Brnovich: With voting rights at the center of politics these days, all eyes were on this case which scrutinized Arizona’s newest voting laws limiting who can submit a person’s ballot and the discarding of ballots submitted at a wrong precinct. Democrats sued the state claiming they violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act which protects voters from discrimination on the basis of race. However, the Supreme Court found that was not the case and voted 6-3 to side with Arizona.
Fulton v. City of Philadelphia: Catholic Social Services (CSS) became a target for religious discrimination when the City of Philadelphia sued them for not placing foster children with same-sex couples. While a lower court ruled in favor of Philadelphia, the Supreme Court had other thoughts. In a groundbreaking unanimous decision, all nine Justices sided with CSS and ultimately religious freedom.
Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta: In 2015, then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris demanded that charitable non-profit organizations hand over their private donor lists. Seeing that this was never an issue before, it would put individuals at threat of discrimination and violence. After six years of litigation, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling allowing donors to remain confidential under the Constitutional right to free speech.
Tandon v. Newsom: When states began issuing strict lockdowns at the rise of the COVID pandemic, many overstepped our Constitutional freedoms. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision forced the state of California to lift restrictions on at-home religious gatherings. This came months after they dealt a win to residents of New York City in a similar case.
California v. Texas: Eighteen states and 2 individuals attempted to overturn the Affordable Care Act citing the unconstitutionality of the law after the Supreme Court struck down the individual mandate. Unfortunately, the Court did not agree. In a 7-2 decision, they allowed Obamacare to remain the law of the land.
Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board: Many people have been watching the 6-year long case stemming from a small Virginia high school that required a transgender student, Gavin Grimm, to use the girls’ bathroom (the bathroom of his biological sex). In 2016, the Supreme Court sent it back to the lower courts. After the 4th Circuit ruled against the school’s policy, the Supreme Court refused to take it back up, allowing the ruling to stand. This was a major loss to individual privacy rights.
The next round of rulings can be expected in October of this year. There is always speculation on what may be taken up by the Supreme Court, but two noteworthy cases worth following are Dignity Health v. Minton regarding a transgender man who was denied a hysterectomy at a Catholic hospital and Diocese of Albany v. Lacewell regarding forced insurance coverage of abortions in the state of New York.
These decisions greatly impact the future of our nation. Eagle Forum continues to keep a close eye on these rulings and applauds those that uphold our Constitutional rights.
