As aclose observer of the court,I thinkthis term's rulings will continue to reject the court's previous liberal decisions and instead reflect a conservative interpretation of the historical meaning of the Constitution. At least three of those upcoming rulings are likely to profoundly influence people's everyday lives in the United States.
College admissions and scholarships can alter the trajectory of a life. College administrators want diverse student populations but are less clear about which categories — including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity and wealth — should influence admission and financial aid decisions. When it comes down to the specifics of which people are underrepresented in higher education and which are overrepresented, the questions become thorny.
Many different groups feel that they are being mistreated when their specific circumstances and histories are considered.
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The Supreme Courtwill hear two lawsuitsOct. 31, 2022, brought by the anti-affirmative action organizationStudents for Fair Admissions. This group argues that Harvard and other schools blatantly discriminate against Asian students. But the claim is a proxy for all other preferences grounded in identity, including those in favor of Black applicants and those disadvantaging whites.
The two cases — one againstHarvardand the other against the北卡罗大学lina— address private as well as public institutions.
Universities justifying their diversity policies argue that the14th Amendmentand its guarantee of "equal protection of the laws" encourages giving an advantage to historically oppressed groups.
The opponents of affirmative action argue that the 14th Amendment wasmeant to uphold racial neutrality, meaning all individuals should be treated the same, regardless of race. In this view, the Constitution forbids considering race in almost any decisions that influence individual advancement.
If is it equality — the same treatment of all races, regardless — this supports the argument that universities may not give preferences to applicants of one race over another.
If the 14th Amendment is found to guarantee equity — or trying to create equal outcomes for all by favoring historically disadvantaged groups — this supports the argument that affirmative action policies are constitutionally sound, and perhaps even required in public institutions.
The current court, with a conservative majority, almost certainly favors the argument that the equal protection clause endorses equality, not equity.
Another major case,303 Creative v. Elenis, asks the court whether state law can compel a private business to serve LGBTQ clients — or whether theFirst Amendmentprotects business owners who violate those laws on religious grounds.
The controversy focuses on a website designer who wants to expand her business to offer personal wedding sites — but not for same-sex couples, as required byColorado's nondiscrimination laws.
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The case comes close to addressing the long-standing conflict between a person's free exercise of religion, guaranteed by the First Amendment, and a state's power to enforce the equal treatment of all citizens.
但问题提出了在这种情况下,关注the website designer's free speech and artistic expression, rather than thereligious motivationat the heart of the conflict.
The somewhat arcane question is whether only the U.S. Constitution controls state legislatures' decisions regarding federal elections rules within their states or whether state constitutions and courts can also oversee the election laws that apply to national elections.
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In this case, thecourt will ruleon whether the North Carolina Supreme Court can strike down and replace the legislature's congressional map, which thestate court foundwasgerrymanderedin violation of the North Carolina Constitution.
In an atmosphere of political distrust andaccusations of election fraud, the court will determine who controls federal election law within each state.
The constitutional text on this question is admittedly unclear.
Supporters of the independent state legislature theory argue that because the Constitution州congressional election rules "shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof," this power applies solely to state legislatures.
This interpretation means that election rules are not constrained by state constitutions, which often have additional protections of"free and equal" elections, enforced by state courts. Instead, only the U.S. Constitution could constrain state legislatures — and only federal courts, including the Supreme Court, could review these decisions.
Critics of the independent state legislature theory argue that even though the U.S. Constitution tasks state legislatures with overseeing election law, ordinary checks and balances that constrain those legislatures still apply. This would mean that other state officials and state courts maintain their usual role in limiting the power of the legislature, which was not meant to be fully independent.
Concerns about independent state legislatures are partly driven by two fears. One is that if legislatures are truly independent, they mayimpose discriminatory laws that benefit their party— often Republicans at the state level.
The other fear is that Republican legislatures may attempt toalter the final slate of electors在2024年总统大选前甲氧苄吲酚ent Donald Trump runs and loses the popular vote in states with Republican Party legislatures.
This case is partially about trust — whether Americans trust state legislatures or state courts to oversee legitimate elections. Andtrust among the American publicis inshort supply.
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The Year at the Court
The outcomes of this term's cases will deeply influence American lives and values, especially for college applicants, LGBTQ citizens and people with strong religious beliefs.
The state Legislature case is the most difficult to understand, and also perhaps the most influential, because it reflects the broader decline of trust in elections and the growing suspicions of fraud along many dimensions. I believe that this case — however resolved — will lower perceptions of the legitimacy of many future election outcomes.
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Morgan Mariettateaches at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and is the editor of the annual SCOTUS series at Palgrave Macmillan on the major decisions of the Supreme Court.