Most Progressive Verdict: SCOTUS rules 6-3 to Protect Gay, Transgendered Employees
The Supreme Court ruled Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act applies to transgendered and gay people, according to an article from The Hill. The landmark 6-3 decision came in the wake of a number of cases involving alleged workplace discrimination. The majority opinion was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch and argues discrimination based on sex applies to transgendered and gay individuals, while the dissenting justices contend Congress likely did not take those ideas into account when they passed the law decades ago. In addition to Gorsuch, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor voted in the majority.
Most Contentious Verdict: Roberts Swings DACA Ruling Against Trump
The Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump’s effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. So reports CNN. The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who has irked some by ruling against the court’s more conservative justices in high-profile cases. He was joined by the court’s traditionally liberal members Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor in the 5-4 decision. The ruling “emphasizes that the administration failed to provide an adequate reason to justify ending the DACA program.”
Most Metallic Verdict: Trump’s Steel Tariffs Safe After SCOTUS Opts Not to Hear Challenge
The Supreme Court passed on taking a case brought by U.S. steel importers fighting President Donald Trump’s 2018 tariffs, according to an article from Politico. This effectively ends the legal battle over the import taxes put in place against China, Europe and other countries. Although Congress is granted jurisdiction of trade in the U.S. Constitution, Trump has imposed the tariffs under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. The American Institute for International Steel, contends, though, that the law is unconstitutional as it “imposes no limits on the president’s discretion to take action.”
Most Religious: Convicted Murderer Spared from Death Sentence Over Right to Bring Priest Into Chamber
Convicted murderer Ruben Gutierrez was granted a reprieve of his Texas death sentence after the Supreme Court intervened, according to a article from The New York Daily News. Gutierrez was found guilty of slaying an 85-year-old woman in 1998, but his life was spared as his representation argued a policy barring him from having a priest in the death chamber violates his religious rights. The state’s prison policy bans anyone other than staff and security from being present in the death chamber. This year, six executions in Texas were postponed due to COVID-19 or action from an appeals court, the article states.
Most One-Sided: Asylum Case Ruling Could Lead to 'Fast Track' Deportations
The Supreme Court ruled, 7-2, that those seeking asylum in the U.S. do not have a right to a federal court hearing, according to an article from NPR. The decision effectively gives the green light to President Donald Trump’s administration to “fast-track the deportation of thousands of immigrants who have claimed to be escaping from persecution and torture in their home countries,” according to the article. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were the only dissenters.