WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ended its term by ruling for the first time that former presidents enjoy broad immunity from prosecution, a decision that almost certainly means Donald Trump will not go to trial before the November election. That closely watched ruling, which drew sharp criticism from the minority justices, was one of several major opinions delivered in the court’s busy final weeks.
Below you will find an overview of the most important cases that the court has handled this year.
Presidential Immunity
For the first time, former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution in a decision that extends the delay in Donald Trump’s trial in Washington on election interference charges and all but rules out a trial before the November election. The justices returned the case to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was supposed to preside over a trial. She must now sort out what remains of special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against the former president.
Majority: Chief Justice John Roberts, Judge Clarence ThomasJustice Samuel Alito, Judge Neil GorsuchJustice Brett KavanaughJustice Amy Coney-Barrett
Disagreement: Judge Sonia SotomayorJustice Elena KaganJustice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Rebellion clause
The justices unanimously ruled that states cannot invoke the post-Civil War “insurrection clause” to keep presidential and congressional candidates off the ballot. The justices overturned a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that found that former President Donald Trump, as part of his effort to overturn his 2020 election loss, intentionally organized and incited the mob of supporters who violently attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
Majority (unsigned opinion): Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett (in part)
Agreeing in judgment: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson, Barrett
6 January
Narrowed a federal obstruction charge that has been used against hundreds of people who took part in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, as well as Trump. The court’s ruling in the case of a former Pennsylvania police officer sent it back to a lower court to determine whether the obstruction charge, adopted in 2002 and designed to deter tampering with documents requested in investigations, can be used against him. The decision could also have implications for Trump’s prosecution on election interference charges.
Majority: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Jackson
Dissenting Opinion: Barrett, Sotomayor, Kagan
Abortion pill
A legal challenge by anti-abortion doctors to the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 and more recent decisions to ease access to the drug, one of two pills used in medication abortions, was unanimously dismissed. The justices ruled that the doctors did not have the legal right or standing to sue, and reversed an appeals court ruling that would have reversed some FDA decisions making mifepristone more readily available, including allowing the drug to be received by mail and allowing it to be used longer during pregnancy.
Majority: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, Jackson
Chevron
Overturned a 40-year-old decision that has been cited thousands of times in federal lawsuits and used to uphold environmental, public health, workplace safety and consumer protection regulations. The decision by the court, popularly known as Chevron, long a target of conservative and corporate interests, called on judges to defer to federal regulators when the wording of a law is not crystal clear. The Supreme Court ruled that judges, not regulators, should determine the meaning of federal laws.
Majority: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett
Dissenting Opinion: Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson
Guns
Upheld a 1994 law meant to protect victims of domestic violence. The law prohibits people under domestic violence orders from possessing guns. The 8-1 decision reversed an appeals court ruling that struck down the law based on the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision expanding gun rights.
Majority: Roberts, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Dissenting Opinion: Thomas
Wealth tax
Upheld a tax on foreign earned income that had been passed by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed by Trump. By a vote of 7-2, the justices rejected an effort by conservative and corporate interests to repeal the tax as a violation of the Constitution, which could have defeated a much-discussed but never-enacted wealth tax on billionaires.
Majority: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson
Agreeing with judgment: Barrett, Alito
Dissenting Opinion: Thomas, Gorsuch
Reorganization
Upheld a Republican-held congressional district in South Carolina in a 6-3 decision, reversing a lower court ruling that the state legislature discriminated against black voters. Dissenting liberal justices warned that the court was insulating states from claims of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. State legislators moved 30,000 black residents out of the district to strengthen Rep. Nancy Mace’s hold on it.
Majority: Alito, Roberts, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett
Dissenting Opinion: Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson
Bump Stocks
Overturned a ban on bump stocks, rapid-fire weapon attachments used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The 6-3 decision found that the Trump administration went too far when it reversed course from its predecessors and banned bump stocks, which allow for a rate of fire similar to that of machine guns. In a dissenting opinion, liberal justices warned that the decision could have “deadly consequences.”
Majority: Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett
Dissenting Opinion: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson
Consumer protection
Upheld the funding method for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which does not rely on annual appropriations from Congress. By a vote of 7-2, the court overturned a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the funding structure violated the Constitution.
Majority: Thomas, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Dissenting Opinion: Alito, Gorsuch
NRA and Freedom of Speech
The court unanimously cleared the way for the National Rifle Association to sue a former New York state official. The gun rights group, which was backed in part by the Biden administration and represented by the ACLU, said Maria Vullo pressured businesses to blacklist them after the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The ruling said the First Amendment prohibits government officials from using their power to punish or suppress speech.
Majority: Sotomayor, Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Purdue Pharmaceutical
A 5-4 vote rejected a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would have allocated billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic but also provided a legal shield to members of the Sackler family, who own the company. The settlement had been on hold since last summer after the Supreme Court agreed to hear it.
Majority: Gorsuch, Thomas, Alito, Barrett, Jackson
Dissenting Opinion: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan
Air pollution
Voted 5-4 to pause the Environmental Protection Agency’s “good neighbor” plan to combat air pollution while legal challenges continue, responding to a request from Republican-led energy-producing states and the steel industry.
Majority: Gorsuch, Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh
Dissenting Opinion: Barrett, Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson
SEC
Ruled 6-3 that people facing civil fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission have the right to a jury trial in federal court, rather than being limited to an internal proceeding. The decision deprived the agency of a key tool in the fight against securities fraud and could have far-reaching implications for other regulators.
Majority: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett
Dissenting Opinion: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson
Social media and government coercion
Dismissed a lawsuit from Republican states that alleged federal officials unconstitutionally forced social media platforms to remove controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security. The court voted 6-3 that the states and other parties had no legal right or standing to litigate their claim that the government leaned on the platforms to restrict conservative viewpoints.
Majority: Barrett, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Jackson
Dissenting Opinion: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch
Social media and government regulation
In a limited ruling, the court upheld Texas and Florida social media laws that restrict how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. But the court majority recognized that the platforms are much like newspapers and have a constitutional right to make choices about what they include in their space. The cases will continue in federal appeals courts: One court had upheld the Texas law; another found that the Florida law is likely unconstitutional.
Majority: Kagan, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Agreeing with the judgment: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch
Emergency abortions
The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Idaho hospitals to perform emergency abortions for the time being. In a limited ruling, the court ruled that it should not have been so quick to intervene in the case over Idaho’s strict abortion ban. By a 6-3 vote, it reinstated a lower court order that had allowed hospitals in the state to perform emergency abortions to protect a pregnant patient’s health.
Majority: Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Dissenting Opinion: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch
Homeless
The justices held that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places. The majority found that such laws do not violate the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment when there is a shortage of shelter space. The opinion overturned an appeals court ruling that applied to nine Western states, including California, home to a third of the nation’s homeless population.
Majority: Gorsuch, Thomas, Alito, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett
Dissenting Opinion: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson
