Supreme Court decisions Today - 10 things to know with detail
- 1. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of LGBTQ rights in the workplace. The court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, also protects LGBTQ individuals from discrimination.
- 2. The Supreme Court also ruled in favor of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to remain in the country and obtain work permits. The court held that the Trump administration's attempt to rescind DACA was unlawful.
- 3. In a major win for reproductive rights, the Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The court held that the law placed an undue burden on women seeking abortions.
- 4. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Native American tribes in a case involving the state of Oklahoma's jurisdiction over a large portion of eastern Oklahoma. The court held that the Creek Nation's reservation was never disestablished by Congress, and therefore the state does not have jurisdiction over crimes committed by Native Americans on tribal land.
- 5. The Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging California's sanctuary state laws, which limit state and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The court's decision not to hear the case effectively upholds California's sanctuary policies.
- 6. The Supreme Court ruled that a Montana scholarship program that provides tax credits for donations to private schools cannot exclude religious schools from participating. The court held that excluding religious schools from the program violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
- 7. In a closely watched case, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to a Pennsylvania school district's policy allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity. The court's decision not to hear the case leaves in place a lower court ruling upholding the policy.
- 8. The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration's attempt to end the DACA program was arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The court's decision means that DACA recipients will continue to be protected from deportation and allowed to work legally in the U.S.
- 9. The Supreme Court upheld a federal law that makes it a crime to encourage or induce illegal immigration. The court held that the law does not violate the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, as it only prohibits conduct, not speech.
- 10. In a case involving the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court ruled that a group of states and individuals did not have standing to challenge the law's individual mandate, which requires most Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty. The court's decision means that the ACA remains intact, at least for now.