Supreme Court Highlights: Trump, Regulation, Abortion, Guns, Homelessness Rulings

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ended its term by ruling for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, almost certainly meaning Donald Trump will not face trial before the November election. The closely watched ruling, which drew sharp dissent from the minority justices, was one of several major rulings to come out of the court’s busy final weeks.

Here are the most important cases in which the court issued rulings this year.

Presidential immunity

For the first time, former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, a ruling has been made that extends the delay of Donald Trump’s trial in Washington on election interference charges and all but rules out a trial before the November election. The justices returned the case to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who would have presided over the trial. She must now sort out what remains of the indictment of the former president by special counsel Jack Smith.

Majority: Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett

Dissent: Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

Inception Clause

In a unanimous decision, states cannot invoke the post-Civil War “insurrection clause” to prevent presidential and congressional candidates from voting. The justices upheld a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that found that former President Donald Trump, as part of an effort to reverse his 2020 election loss, intentionally organized and incited a mob of supporters who violently stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.

Majority (unsigned opinion): Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett (in part)

Concurring with Judgment: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson, Barrett

January 6th

The federal obstruction charge that was used against hundreds of people who took part in the violent attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as Trump, has been narrowed. The court ruled against the former Pennsylvania police officer and sent the case back to a lower court to determine whether the obstruction charge, enacted in 2002 and intended to discourage tampering with documents sought in investigations, can be used against him. The decision could also have implications for Trump’s prosecution on election interference charges.

Majority: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Jackson

Disagreement: Barrett, Sotomayor, Kagan

Abortion pill

A legal challenge by anti-abortion doctors to the initial FDA approval of mifepristone in 2000 and more recent decisions that made it easier to get the drug, one of two pills used in medication abortions, was unanimously rejected. The justices found that the doctors had no standing or legal standing to sue, reversing an appellate ruling that would have reversed some FDA decisions that made it easier to get mifepristone, including getting it by mail, and allowed it to be used longer during pregnancy.

Majority: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, Jackson

Chevron

It overturned a 40-year-old decision that had been cited thousands of times in federal court cases and used to uphold environmental, public health, workplace safety and consumer protection laws. The court’s decision, commonly known as Chevron, long a target of conservatives and business interests, called on judges to defer to federal regulators when the words of a statute were not crystal clear. The Supreme Court ruled that judges, not regulators, should decide the meaning of federal regulations.

Majority: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett

Disagreement: Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson

Firearm

It upheld a 1994 law designed to protect victims of domestic violence. The law bars people who are subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns. The 8-1 decision overturned an appellate ruling that invalidated the law based on a 2022 Supreme Court decision expanding gun rights.

Majority: Roberts, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson

Discord: Thomas

Property tax

It upheld a tax on foreign earnings that was passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed by Trump. The justices rejected an effort by conservatives and business interests to strike down the tax as a violation of the Constitution by a 7-2 vote that could have doomed a much-talked-about but never-passed billionaire wealth tax.

Majority: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson

Concurring with judgment: Barrett, Alito

Disagreement: Thomas, Gorsuch

Re-apportionment of constituencies

He upheld a Republican-controlled congressional district in South Carolina in a 6-3 decision, overturning a lower court ruling that found the state legislature had discriminated against black voters. The dissenting liberal justices warned that the court was insulating states from claims of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. State lawmakers moved 30,000 black residents out of the district to strengthen Rep. Nancy Mace’s hold on it.

Majority: Alito, Roberts, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett

Disagreement: Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson

Bump stocks

A ban on bump stocks, the rapid-fire firearm accessories used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, has been struck down. The 6-3 decision found that the Trump administration had overstepped its authority by reversing course from its predecessors and banning bump stocks, which have a rate of fire comparable to machine guns. In a separate opinion, the liberal justices warned that the decision could have “deadly consequences.”

Majority: Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett

Disagreement: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson

Consumer protection

Upheld the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding method, which is not dependent on annual appropriations from Congress. The court, by a 7-2 vote, reversed a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found the funding structure violated the Constitution.

Majority: Thomas, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson

Dissent: Alito, Gorsuch

NRA and freedom of speech

The court unanimously cleared the way for the National Rifle Association to sue the former New York state official. Backed in part by the Biden administration and represented by the ACLU, the gun rights group said Maria Vullo pressured companies to blacklist her after the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The opinion said the First Amendment prohibits government officials from using their authority to punish or suppress speech.

Majority: Sotomayor, Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson

Purdue Pharma

By a 5-4 vote, he rejected a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would have put billions of dollars toward combating the opioid epidemic but also provided legal protections for members of the Sackler family who own the company. The settlement had been on hold since last summer after the Supreme Court agreed to hear it.

Majority: Gorsuch, Thomas, Alito, Barrett, Jackson

Disagreement: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan

Air pollution

By a 5-4 vote, the Environmental Protection Agency’s “good neighbor” plan to combat air pollution was put on hold pending the outcome of a legal challenge, in response to an appeal by Republican-majority energy-producing states and the steel industry.

Majority: Gorsuch, Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh

Disagreement: Barrett, Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson

SECTION

A 6-3 ruling that people facing civil fraud complaints from the Securities and Exchange Commission have the right to a jury trial in federal court, rather than being limited to internal proceedings, stripped the agency of a key tool in the fight against securities fraud and could have far-reaching implications for other regulatory agencies.

Majority: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett

Disagreement: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson

Social Media and Government Coercion

A lawsuit filed by Republican-led states that claimed federal officials unconstitutionally forced social media platforms to remove controversial social media posts on topics like COVID-19 and election security was dismissed. The court voted 6-3 that the states and other parties had no standing or standing to sue over their claim that the government pressured the platforms to suppress conservative viewpoints.

Majority: Barrett, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Jackson

Dissent: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch

Social Media and Government Regulation

In a limited ruling, the court put a hold on social media laws in Texas and Florida that would have restricted how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. But a majority of the justices found that the platforms are much like newspapers and have a constitutional right to make decisions about what to include and what to exclude from their spaces. The cases will continue through federal appeals courts: One court upheld the Texas law; another found the Florida law likely unconstitutional.

Majority: Kagan, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson

Concurring in the ruling: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch

Emergency abortions

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Idaho hospitals to perform emergency abortions, for now. In a limited order, the court said it should not have been so quick to get involved in a case involving Idaho’s strict abortion ban. By a 6-3 vote, it reinstated a lower court ruling that allowed hospitals in the state to perform emergency abortions to protect the health of pregnant patients.

Majority: Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson

Dissent: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch

Homelessness

The justices ruled that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors in public places. The majority found that such laws do not violate the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment when there is a lack of shelter space. The opinion overturned an appeals court ruling that applied to nine Western states, including California, which has a third of the nation’s homeless population.

Majority: Gorsuch, Thomas, Alito, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett

Disagreement: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson