WASHINGTON, DC – The Supreme Court will decide a dozen cases this week before the Court adjourns for the summer, including four major cases, dealing with the U.S. census, redistricting, and deference to government agencies, which could have long-lasting impacts on the nation.
The Court heard arguments in 69 cases this term, slightly lower than its normal workload. These were selected out of roughly 8,000 cases offered to the Court for this year’s term, which started in October and concludes at the end of June.
The justices handed down four major decisions out of the 57 cases decided thus far. That leaves 12 for decision during the Court term’s final week.
Some of the pending cases are more amusing than earthshattering, such as Tennessee Wine, which pits states’ authority over alcohol against a judge-made doctrine that does not allow states to favor their own businesses in a way that burdens interstate commerce.
But as usual, several major cases will not be handed down this week, as the justices put the finishing touches on their writings and each justice’s law clerks scramble to get their bosses what they need to polish opinions that will be quoted for decades.
Of the cases to be decided this week:
Kisor v. Wilkie gives the Supreme Court an opportunity overrule Auer deference, a doctrine under which federal judges defer to government bureaucrats’ interpretations of their own regulations, which carry the force of law.
Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek are challenges to “political gerrymanders.” Conservatives have long argued that there is no way to take politics out of politicians’ redrawing their own districting lines after each decennial census.
And speaking of the census, Department of Commerce v. New York is a challenge to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to ask each resident in America whether that resident is a U.S. citizen, a question that has been asked for most of U.S. history but to which liberal Democrats now strongly object.
The Court will hand down decisions at 10 a.m. on Monday and are expected to schedule another day or two later in the week — likely Wednesday and, if need be, Thursday — to hand down the final cases.
Ken Klukowski is senior legal analyst for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @kenklukowski.
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