WASHINGTON – WASHINGTON (AP) – US Supreme Court justices will take office today to release their latest views on the term, including a closely watched case: whether the former President Donald Trump he has immunity from criminal prosecution for his role in the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol.
The court will also rule on Monday whether state laws that limit how social media platforms regulate content posted by their users violate the Constitution. The immunity case was the last case discussed, on April 25th. The court typically begins issuing opinions at 10 a.m. ET.
Here are the latest:
The Supreme Court has just opened the door to new and broad challenges to regulations long after they take effect, the third blow in a week for federal agencies.
The justices today ruled 6-3 in favor of a North Dakota truck stop that wants to sue over a regulation on debit card fees that the federal appeals court in Washington upheld 10 years ago.
Federal law sets a six-year deadline for broad challenges to regulations. In this case, Federal Reserve regulations governing the fees merchants must pay banks whenever customers use a debit card went into effect in 2011.
Read more about the decision in the Corner Post case.
Chief Justice John Roberts declined an invitation to meet with Democratic senators in May to talk about Supreme Court ethics and the controversy over flags that flew out of Justice Samuel Alito’s homes.
Roberts’ response came a day after Alito separately rejected demands that he refuse himself from the Supreme Court involving former President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6 rioters over the flags, which are like those carried by rioters in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Both Alito and another conservative justice, Clarence Thomas, have rejected calls to recuse themselves from cases related to the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Thomas’ wife, Ginni, supported efforts to overturn the election results.
The intrigued judges during discussions on April 25 about where the line should be drawn, and although it seemed unlikely from their questions that they would adopt Trump’s views on absolute immunity, they seemed potentially prepared to narrow the case.
One option would be to send it back to the trial judge Tanya Chutkanfor her to determine which allegations in the indictment constitute official acts and should therefore be excluded from the case – and which do not.
This type of analysis can be time-consuming and result in additional delays. However, by the same token, a narrower set of allegations could make the case easier for special advisor Jack Smith and your team to process and consume less time on the election year clock.
In April, the Supreme Court heard more than two and a half hours of arguments on the historic question of whether former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution in a case accusing him of Conspiring to Overturn the 2020 Presidential Election.
Some of the many notable moments included:
1. Talk of drone strikes and presidential bribes
2. Historical returns, with frequent invocations of the nation’s Founding Fathers
3. The 2024 election was the proverbial elephant in the room
Read more main conclusions from oral arguments.
The judges also have three other cases staying on the agenda Monday, including another high-profile case about social media laws in Texas and Florida that would limit how platforms regulate posted content.
Both laws aimed to respond to conservative complaints that social media companies had liberal leanings and censored users based on their views, especially those on the political right.
The immunity case was the last case discussed, on April 25. So, in a sense, it’s not unusual for it to be among the last ones decided. But the timing of the court’s ruling on Trump’s immunity could be as important as the eventual ruling.
By holding the case until early July, the justices reduced, if not eliminated, the possibility that Trump would have to be tried before the November election, regardless of what the court decides.
In other epic court cases involving the presidency, including the case of the Watergate tapes, the judges acted much faster. Fifty years ago, the court handed down its ruling forcing President Richard Nixon to turn over recordings of conversations in the Oval Office just 16 days after hearing arguments.
Even during this period, the court reached a decision in less than a month to decide unanimously to Trump that states cannot invoke the post-Civil War insurrection clause to kick him off the ballot due to his refusal to accept Democratic President Joe Biden’s victory four years ago.
Read more about What’s at stake in Trump’s immunity decision.
In the last 10 days of June, at a frenetic pace of his own, the Supreme Court touched a wide swath of American society in a torrent of decisions on abortion, guns, the environment, health care, the opioid crisis, securities fraud and homelessness.
And with the court meeting for the final time this term on Monday, an unusual push into July, the most anticipated decision of the term awaits: whether the former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The court will also decide whether state laws that limit how social media platforms regulate content posted by their users violate the Constitution.
Read more about What to Expect When the Supreme Court’s Term Ends.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
