J. Scott Applewhite/AP
- The current Supreme Court is one of the most closely watched in history after President Donald Trump successfully appointed two conservative-leaning justices.
- The cases accepted by and decided on by the Court greatly shape precedent for future laws and rulings in courts across the United States.
- This year has seen the high court issue decisions on matters including firearm possession, immigration, and abortion.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump’s successful appointment of conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch ushered in a new era for the Supreme Court.
As the justices consider issues that touch on all aspects of American life including immigration, abortion, and the environment, they make waves across the country that impact current and future laws and court decisions. Oftentimes, the high court’s rulings simply tell lower courts what legal precedents they can and can’t follow, so their opinions aren’t always the final outcome for the plaintiffs — they frequently have to go back to lower appeals courts to settle things.
The entire docket can be viewed here. Here’s a roundup of all the decisions the Court has made so far this year.
United States v. Haymond
Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images
The case: Andre Haymond went to prison for 38 months after he was convicted of possessing child pornography, then was again found with child porn while he was on supervised release. A district judge sentenced him to another 5 years in prison because a law required it.
The decision: 5-4 that the law is unconstitutional, and the sentence violated the Fifth and Sixth Amendments’ right to a trial by jury.
Kisor v. Wilkie
Carolyn Kaster/AP
The case: Vietnam War veteran James Kisor applied for disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1982 for post-traumatic stress disorder, but the agency denied his request. In 2006, Kisor applied again, and the VA granted his request, but would only give him benefits starting from that time, not back to 1982.
The decision: 9-0 that courts should defer to an "agency’s reasonable reading of its own genuinely ambiguous regulations."
Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Assn. v. Thomas
Doug McSchooler/AP
The case: The Tennessee attorney general declared a law that only let people get licenses to operate retail liquor stores if they had resided in the state for a certain number of years was unconstitutional, so the the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) stopped enforcing it. The Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association, a trade association of in-state liquor stores, sued.
The decision: 7-2 that the law did violate the Commerce Clause.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The Trump administration has admitted the lowest number of refugees the US has accepted in decades. Here’s what people go through to make it to the US.
- 19 times Jon Stewart came out of retirement to stir up controversy, fight for 9/11 first responders, and make us laugh
- Here are all the times Joe Biden has been accused of acting inappropriately toward women and girls
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Ellen Cranley)