Census, redistricting top remaining Supreme Court cases

National Court News

The Supreme Court enters its final week of decisions with two politically charged issues unresolved, whether to rein in political line-drawing for partisan gain and allow a citizenship question on the 2020 census.

Both decisions could affect the distribution of political power for the next decade, and both also may test Chief Justice John Roberts’ professed desire to keep his court of five conservatives appointed by Republican presidents and four liberals appointed by Democrats from looking like the other, elected branches of government. Decisions that break along the court’s political and ideological divide are more likely to generate criticism of the court as yet another political institution.

In addition, the justices could say as early as Monday whether they will add to their election-year calendar a test of President Donald Trump’s effort to end an Obama-era program that shields young immigrants from deportation. The court’s new term begins in October.

Twelve cases that were argued between November and April remain to be decided. They include disputes over: a trademark sought by the FUCT clothing line, control of a large swatch of eastern Oklahoma that once belonged to Indian tribes and when courts should defer to decisions made by executive branch agencies.

But the biggest cases by far involve the citizenship question the Trump administration wants to add to the census and two cases in which lower courts found that Republicans in North Carolina and Democrats in Maryland went too far in drawing congressional districts to benefit their party at the expense of the other party’s voters.

The Supreme Court has never invalidated districts on partisan grounds, but the court has kept the door open to these claims. The court has struck down districts predominantly based on race.

Related listings

  • Court records: Illinois father led police to son's body

    Court records: Illinois father led police to son's body

    National Court News 05/06/2019

    Court records show that video police recovered from an Illinois woman's cellphone showing her bruised 5-year-old son prompted the boy's father to lead investigators to the child's body.JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. of Crystal Lake are charge...

  • Ohio Republicans defending state congressional map in court

    Ohio Republicans defending state congressional map in court

    National Court News 03/11/2019

    Attorneys for Ohio Republican officials will call witnesses this week to defend the state's congressional map.A federal trial enters its second week Monday in a lawsuit by voter rights groups that say the current seats resulted from "an unconstitutio...

  • Court: No new offshore drilling work during federal shutdown

    Court: No new offshore drilling work during federal shutdown

    National Court News 01/20/2019

    A federal judge in South Carolina has turned back the Trump administration's attempt to continue preparatory work for offshore drilling during the federal government's partial shutdown, issuing a ruling in a federal lawsuit challenging the overall ex...

East Greenwich, RI Family Law Office

The Law Office of Erica S. Janton offers a wide range of legal services in all areas of family law, encompassing divorce, paternity, adoption, child support, child custody and placement, post judgment modifications, mediation and other related issues.

Erica S. Janton has extensive experience in complex high asset and high conflict family law matters. For the last decade, Erica S. Janton has devoted her career to the family law, first as a mediator and then in her legal career as a family law attorney and mediator. Attorney Janton represents a large variety of clients and has earned a well-regarded reputation for resolving complex custody and high asset, high conflict divorce cases. When providing clients with representation as an attorney, she is a compassionate and staunch advocate who ensures that her clients are well informed of their options and the related process, and prepared for every possible scenario a client may encounter.

Erica S. Janton has extensive experience in complex high asset and high conflict family law matters and uses her experience within the family court arena to individually tailor strategies with each of her clients and provide realistic solution focused results.