Constitutional Issues
📚What You Will Learn
- Core First Amendment limits in online content and protests.
- How executive orders test constitutional checks on presidential power.
- Status of transgender equality under 14th Amendment in sports and healthcare.
- Evolving federalism in voting districts and state regulations.
- Rise of nondelegation challenges to agency authority.
📝Summary
💡Key Takeaways
- Supreme Court upheld Texas age-verification for porn sites, passing First Amendment scrutiny.
- Challenges to Trump's executive orders on immigration and birthright citizenship raise separation of powers concerns.
- Transgender rights cases, like bans on gender-affirming care and sports participation, question Equal Protection Clause.
- Nondelegation doctrine and administrative law limit agency power, impacting regulations.
- Voting rights disputes, such as Louisiana's district maps, invoke Voting Rights Act and amendments.
The Supreme Court in 2024-2025 upheld Texas's law requiring age verification for pornographic sites accessible to minors. In Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, justices ruled it only incidentally burdens adult speech and survives intermediate scrutiny. This decision empowers states to protect kids online without fully gutting First Amendment rights.
Meanwhile, universal injunctions faced limits in Trump v. CASA, where the Court curbed courts' power to block executive policies nationwide. Project 2025 critiques warn of First Amendment risks from targeting journalists and protesters.
Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors hit the Court in U.S. v. Skrmetti, testing Equal Protection. Oral arguments in December 2024 signal broader impacts on transgender equality, especially with potential federal bans looming.
Sports eligibility divides too: West Virginia v. B.J.P. asks if Title IX or Equal Protection bars states from sex-based teams. States like Louisiana push boundaries, reshaping youth policies nationwide.
Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship for some drew injunctions, now under appeal. The First Circuit weighs its constitutionality, with scholars arguing it defies the 14th Amendment.
Mass deportations and Alien Enemies Act uses spark emergency docket battles, like A.A.R.P. v. Trump on Venezuelan removals. These test presidential limits under separation of powers.
Louisiana v. Callais returned to SCOTUS in 2025-26 over a second Black-majority district, questioning Voting Rights Act vs. 14th/15th Amendments. Redistricting battles underscore state-federal tensions.
Title VII discrimination rules eased for majority groups in Ames v. Ohio. States gain leeway in employment and beyond.
Nondelegation doctrine revives, challenging Congress's handoff of power to agencies. This could upend regulations on environment, FTC rules, and more.
Presidential tariffs under International Emergency Economic Powers Act head to Court, blending trade with constitutional authority.
⚠️Things to Note
- Many 2024-2025 SCOTUS cases originated from state courts, highlighting federalism tensions.
- Project 2025 proposals threaten First Amendment by targeting protesters and media.
- Emergency docket handled high-stakes executive actions on immigration swiftly.
- Conservative court majority influences outcomes on transgender and immigration issues.