Opinions of the Court - 2021
Major Court Decisions
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The Texas legislature passed a law, SB 8, that prohibits abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Additionally, the law criminalizes any person who "aids or abets" any such abortion and permits any private citizen (as opposed to the state itself), to file a lawsuit for damages against such persons. Abortion providers challenged the law, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the providers’ initial request to block enforcement of the law. After the law went into effect, the providers filed another legal challenge, as did the federal government. A federal district court temporarily enjoined enforcement of the law, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed the lower court's injunction. The Department of Justice asked the Court to reinstate the district court's judgment.
The Texas legislature passed a law, SB 8, that prohibits abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Additionally, the law criminalizes any person who "aids or abets" any such abortion and permits any private citizen (as opposed to the state itself), to file a lawsuit for damages against such persons. Abortion providers challenged the law, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the providers’ initial request to block enforcement of the law. After the law went into effect, the providers filed another legal challenge.
Question: Can the United States sue the State of Texas in federal court to prohibit enforcement of an unconstitutional abortion law?
Ruling: The petitioners in this case may proceed past the motion-to-dismiss stage only as to the defendants who are state medical licensing officials.
Other Cases
Whether the speech-and-debate clause forecloses judicial review of the constitutionality of the proxy voting resolution in this action against the speaker of the house, the clerk and the sergeant-at-arms; and (2) whether the U.S. House of Representatives resolution allowing members to cast floor votes by proxy is unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court on declined to hear House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s challenge to House proxy voting rules, which were proposed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Supreme Court, as is typical, did not comment on why it declined to hear McCarthy’s case.
Together Employees v. Mass General
Brigham
Hospital Workers Rejected at Supreme Court on Vaccine Mandate
A U.S. Supreme Court justice turned away a request from eight Mass General Brigham Inc. workers for a religious exemption from the Massachusetts hospital system’s requirement that they be vaccinated against Covid-19.
The workers, who say they have already been fired from their jobs, contended the mandatory vaccine policy violates federal job-discrimination and disabilities law.
October 2021
