WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court’s lineup of new cases is fit for an election year.
Affirmative action, abortion and another look at the Obama health care law all are before the court, and they could well be joined by immigration, giving the justices a run of cases that reads like a campaign platform.
Also coming; disputes involving public-sector labor unions, the death penalty and the way electoral districts are drawn.
Decisions in these high-profile cases almost certainly will split the court along ideological lines, mirroring the country’s stark partisan split. What’s more, the most contentious issues won’t be resolved until late June, barely four months before the 2016 presidential election.
What started as a somewhat sleepy term – especially following major decisions last June on health care and same-sex marriage – has become much more interesting, says University of Pennsylvania law dean Theodore Ruger.