The 2021-2022 term for the U.S. Supreme Court is the first full-term dominated by its six conservative bloc Justices. While the leak of the Roe v. Wade draft drew much attention to the Supreme Court the court also ruled on additional cases this term. 

Biden v. Texas

In December 2018 the Department of Homeland Security initiated the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), a border security program that prevents asylum seekers from staying in the U.S. while they await immigration-related legal proceedings. Before the MPP the asylum seekers were allowed to remain in the U.S. while awaiting their legal proceedings, usually in immigration detention centers or on parole. While individuals and families are subject to MPP rules, unaccompanied children are not and are allowed to stay in the U.S. while awaiting a hearing.

In June 2021 President Joe Biden’s administration sought to end MPP but was challenged by Texas and Missouri. A federal court agreed with Texas and Missouri and ordered the Biden administration to reinstate MPP with new guidelines. These new guidelines are referred to as MPP 2.0. Under MPP 2.0 individuals have to prove that there is a “reasonable possibility” of persecution in Mexico to be exempted from MPP. The case was eventually taken to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals which declined to block the lower court’s ruling and has made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The vote was 5-4 with the court’s three liberal members in dissent along with Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh. As of July 10, Biden can now end MPP but has not yet issued a statement on when that will happen.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has been decided and will overturn Roe v. Wade leaving it up to the states to decide whether or not abortion will remain legal in their respective states. For more information on how that affects Texans, you can read more here.

The vote was 6-3 with the court’s three liberal members in dissent.

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District

Joseph A. Kennedy is a former football coach for the Bremerton School District. Kennedy was placed on paid administrative leave for praying at the 50-yard line after football games after being warned to stop this practice. Bremerton’s athletic director recommended not rehiring Kennedy and sued Bremerton School District citing his right to free speech and free exercise. 

A U.S. District judge ruled against Kennedy. Kennedy appealed and took his case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals where it was passed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Kennedy.

 In the dissenting opinion, Justice Sotomayor said “To the degree, the Court portrays petitioner Joseph Kennedy’s prayers as private and quiet, it misconstrues the facts. The record reveals that Kennedy had a longstanding practice of conducting demonstrative prayers on the 50-yard line of the football field. Kennedy consistently invited others to join his prayers and for years led student athletes in prayer at the same time and location. The Court ignores this history.” 

The ruling is similar to the Carson v. Makin ruling declaring that Maine could not exclude religious schools from a state tuition program.

The vote was 6-3 with the court’s three liberal members in dissent.

West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

 The Supreme Court has overruled a previous case from 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA when the Supreme Court found that carbon dioxide is a pollutant under the Clean Air Act and directed the EPA to regulate it. The new ruling establishes that the EPA regulates the energy sector, limiting the EPA’s ability to measures like emission controls at individual power plants. This specific case pertained to EPA’s inability to compel coal power plants to switch to renewables through the Clean Air Act.

This new ruling means the EPA can no longer create new regulations without the approval of Congress to implement them. In October 2022 the Supreme Court will hear a similar case in Sackett v. EPA. This case will determine whether the 9th Circuit used the proper test to determine whether wetlands are waters of the US under the Clean Water Act.

The vote was 6-3 with the court’s three liberal members in dissent.

Vega v. Tekoh

The Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement officers can no longer be sued when they violate the Miranda rights of criminal suspects by failing to provide the Miranda warning before questioning them. Miranda’s rights is a statement that must be read to anyone that is placed under arrest. It is tied to the Fifth Amendment which protects citizens from self-incrimination.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Carlos Vega, a sheriff’s deputy who was sued after he failed to read a Miranda warning to Terence Tekoh a hospital worker accused of sexually assaulting a patient. Both parties agreed that Tekoh never read his Miranda rights. Effectively the Supreme Court has created a legal immunity for police making arrests without explaining Miranda rights to those they arrest.

The vote was 6-3 with the court’s three liberal members in dissent.

Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta

In July 2020 the Supreme court established in McGrit v. Oklahoma that much of eastern Oklahoma as a Native American Reservation and would prevent state authorities from prosecuting Indigenous people. The court’s decision means that Indigenous people who commit crimes on the Oklahoma reservation cannot be prosecuted by state or local law enforcement, and must instead face justice in tribal or federal courts.

The Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta ruling states that state authorities may prosecute non-Native Americans who commit crimes against those on reservations undermining federal and tribal courts. The McGrit v. Oklahoma case which established most of eastern Oklahoma as a Native American reservation is in place and was not overturned with this new ruling.   

Houston Community College System v. Wilson

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that elected bodies do not violate the First Amendment when they censure their members.

David Wilson, a former elected trustee of the HCC system sued the system’s board after expressing his concerns and made public complaints by arranging robocalls regarding the board’s actions and during interviews with local radio stations. Wilson also had a website to compile his complaints against the board.

The ruling was 9-0 in favor of Houston Community College system.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen

The supreme court struck down a New York gun law that places restrictions on carrying a concealed handgun in public places. Concealed carry requires a license in the state of New York and is only issued when a person demonstrates a special need for self-defense. A similar law was in place to decrease gun violence in densely populated states like California and New Jersey. Texas does not require a license to carry a concealed firearm.

This is the first time a Second Amendment case has been brought to the Supreme Court since 2010.

The vote was 6-3 with the court’s three liberal members in dissent.