United States
US SUPREME COURT CONSIDERS CASES ON IMMIGRATION DETENTION, PREDICTION MARKETS AND TEN COMMANDMENTS
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to take up several major legal disputes for its new term, including cases involving immigration detentio...
By Wavers Multimedia
The court is expected to announce some of the additional cases it will hear this week. Its new nine-month term begins next week, and the justices have already agreed to consider about two dozen cases.
IMMIGRATION DETENTION POLICY UNDER REVIEW
One potential case concerns the Trump administration's immigration detention policy, under which certain non-U.S. citizens living in the United States could be detained without an opportunity to seek release on bond.
The administration has argued that some noncitizens who have already lived in the United States for years can be classified as “applicants for admission” under federal immigration law.
People falling within that category are subject to mandatory detention while their immigration cases proceed and are not eligible for bond hearings under the relevant law.
The policy has faced challenges in federal courts, making the issue one of the significant immigration disputes the Supreme Court is being asked to consider.
DISPUTE OVER PREDICTION MARKETS
The justices are also considering a dispute involving prediction markets and whether certain event contracts should be treated as federally regulated financial products or as gambling subject to state regulation.
Companies including Kalshi and Polymarket have offered contracts linked to events, including sporting outcomes. Several states argue that sports-related contracts constitute gambling and should be regulated under state laws.
The companies, however, maintain that their contracts fall under federal oversight as financial derivatives. Conflicting legal positions have brought the dispute closer to possible Supreme Court review.
TEXAS TEN COMMANDMENTS LAW
Another potential case involves a Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public elementary and secondary school classrooms.
Families challenging the law, with support from the American Civil Liberties Union, have asked the Supreme Court to review a lower-court decision that rejected their challenge.
The case raises constitutional questions concerning religious displays in public schools and the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court previously struck down a similar Kentucky requirement in 1980. The court's approach to religious-liberty cases has since evolved, including through its 2022 decision involving prayer by a public-school football coach.
LOUISIANA SEEKS REVIEW OF ITS OWN LAW
The Texas dispute is not the only case involving classroom displays of the Ten Commandments.
Louisiana has also enacted a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public-school classrooms and has faced legal challenges over the measure.
The state has asked the Supreme Court to consider its case if the justices agree to review the Texas dispute.
COURT YET TO DECIDE WHICH CASES TO HEAR
The Supreme Court has not yet agreed to hear all of these disputes. The justices are still deciding which additional cases will be added to the docket for the new term.
The cases under consideration could bring the court into major debates over immigration enforcement, gambling regulation and the role of religious displays in public education.