US: Birthright, porn, voting rights cases awaiting Supreme Court’s judgment

Trump

As the US Supreme Court winds down its term ahead of the summer break, there are a number of cases still to be decided.

The court is scheduled to issue opinions on Thursday and these are the major outstanding cases:

– Birthright citizenship –

The case is ostensibly about Donald Trump’s bid to scrap birthright citizenship but it actually turns on whether federal judges have the right to issue nationwide blocks to presidential decrees.

It is perhaps the most significant of the remaining cases since it could have far-reaching ramifications for the ability of the judiciary to rein in Trump or future US presidents.

Trump’s executive order ending automatic citizenship for children born on American soil has been paused by district courts in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington that deemed it unconstitutional.

But the question before the Supreme Court is whether a single district court can freeze an executive branch move with a universal injunction.

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to restrict the application of a district court’s injunction solely to the parties who brought the case and the district where the judge presides.

Whatever the nine justices decide, the actual question of whether Trump can legally end birthright citizenship is expected to be back in front of the top court before long.

– Porn site age verification –

The case — Free Speech Coalition vs Paxton — involves a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify visitors’ ages, part of a growing effort to limit access by minors to online sexual content.

Texas is one of nearly 20 states to institute such a requirement, which critics argue violates First Amendment free speech rights.