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The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. Today we have a look back at some of the most consequential rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court term, which ended yesterday. Plus, nursing associations will challenge the Trump administration’s student loan rule; President Trump nominated a newly-confirmed district court judge to the 5th Circuit; and the debate over ABA law school accreditation is heating up, much like the weather. Let’s dive in.

Supreme Court takeaways: Wins for conservatives, some Trump limits

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

It’s July 1 and the U.S. Supreme Court term is done and dusted. The past nine months were packed with rulings handing President Trump big wins, with some notable limits. Here are the highlights:

Presidential power

Trump lost bids to use emergency powers for broad tariffs and to remove a Federal Reserve governor.
But the court gave presidents greater control over federal agencies, allowing the removal of certain agency officials previously protected from dismissal.

Immigration

The court largely backed Trump’s hardline immigration policies, including efforts to limit protections for some immigrants and tightern asylum access.
But it rejected Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, calling the legal justification lacking.

Voting and elections

The court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, making it easier for states to redraw congressional districts.
The justices also struck down limits on coordinated spending between political parties and candidates.
However, the court upheld states’ ability to count mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day but received later.

Social issues

Conservatives swept major “culture war” cases.
The court upheld state bans on transgender athletes competing on girls’ school sports teams.
It struck down Colorado’s ban on “conversion” talk therapy for LGBTQ+ minors on free speech grounds.
The justices also expanded gun rights protections, invalidating a Hawaii handgun-carry restriction and limited the application of a federal law that bars firearms possession by certain drug users.

Coming up today

LGBTQ+: U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston will hold a scheduling conference in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's refusal to issue passports to transgender and nonbinary Americans that reflect their gender identities.
Government: U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in D.C. will hold a motion hearing in a lawsuit brought by the Kennedy Human Rights Center challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s plans to dissolve or defund its three primary internal oversight divisions.
Student loans: U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston will hear a challenge by the American Nurses Association and other groups to the U.S. Department of Education’s exclusion of students pursuing advanced nursing degrees from the definition of “professional degree” programs in its final rule implementing federal student loan borrowing limits.
SCOTUS: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Janie Nitze, his co-author of “Heroes of 1776,” are scheduled to appear at Colonial Williamsburg in a discussion moderated by Colonial Williamsburg CEO Carly Fiorina.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

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