{"id":340,"date":"2011-10-10T19:48:10","date_gmt":"2011-10-10T23:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/?p=340"},"modified":"2013-09-20T19:50:40","modified_gmt":"2013-09-20T23:50:40","slug":"us-supreme-court-2012-2013-term-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.law.duq.edu\/juris\/2011\/10\/10\/us-supreme-court-2012-2013-term-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S Supreme Court 2012-2013 Term Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"United<\/a>
United States Supreme Court Justices (John Marino\/The Washington Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by: Lauren Gailey, Staff Writer<\/p>\n

As the Supreme Court kicks off its new term this week, civil rights \u2013 and the country\u2019s evolving definition of \u201cequality\u201d \u2013 will take center stage.<\/div>\n
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The Court is likely to be called upon to decide cases affecting issues that have plagued the American political landscape for decades, including affirmative action in higher education, voting rights, and same-sex marriage.<\/div>\n
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The term is set to begin with Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum<\/i>, No. 10-1491, in which 12 Nigerian plaintiffs brought suit under the Alien Tort Statute (\u201cATS\u201d) against Dutch, British, and Nigerian oil companies.\u00a0 The plaintiffs claim that these corporations aided and abetted the Nigerian government in committing human rights abuses, but the Second Circuit denied relief because the ATS does not give U.S. courts jurisdiction over such claims against corporations.\u00a0 Should the Supreme Court reverse, this case could have a major impact on the way corporations conduct business abroad.<\/div>\n
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On October 10th, the Court will hear arguments on a question that could have far-reaching effects for the business of higher education.\u00a0 In Fisher v. University of Texas<\/i>, No. 11-345, plaintiffs Abigail Fisher and Rachel Michalewicz \u2013 two white women \u2013 sued the University of Texas at Austin.\u00a0 They claim that the university wrongfully denied them admission because its policies, which include taking racial diversity into account in selecting part of its class, are discriminatory.\u00a0 The Fifth Circuit disagreed, however, and the Supreme Court will now take up this divisive issue.<\/div>\n
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The Court is also likely to hear two other hot issues this term.\u00a0 In a September 19th appearance at the University of Colorado, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that she and her colleagues will \u201cmost likely\u201d take up the question \u201ctoward the end of the current term\u201d whether the provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (\u201cDOMA\u201d) barring the federal government from providing benefits to same-sex couples married in states recognizing such unions is constitutional.\u00a0 Just last May in Massachusetts v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services<\/i>, 682 F.3d 1, the First Circuit held that it is not, and the Court\u2019s decision either way will affect similar challenges to DOMA that have arisen in a number of Circuits.<\/div>\n
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The Supreme Court is also likely to hear one of the many challenges to the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, including cases dealing with voter identification and redistricting.\u00a0 Such a case would likely take up the unanswered question in 2009\u2019s Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. One v. Holder<\/i>, 557 U.S. 193.\u00a0 Chief Justice Roberts, writing for a seven-judge majority, cast doubt on the law\u2019s continued validity, as \u201c[w]e are now a very different nation\u201d than the one that enacted the Voting Rights Act more than 40 years ago.\u00a0 Whether the Court deems the Act\u2019s protections to still be necessary, particularly those requiring federal review of changes to election procedures in regions that have historically been plagued by racial discrimination and prejudice, could affect election outcomes across the nation.\u00a0 It remains to be seen, however, whether the Court, that is all too familiar with the fallout of 2000\u2019s Bush v. Gore<\/i>, will be willing to take the risk to its reputation that is necessary to settle these questions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by: Lauren Gailey, Staff Writer As the Supreme Court kicks off its new term this week, civil rights \u2013 and the country\u2019s evolving definition of \u201cequality\u201d \u2013 will take center stage. The Court is likely to be called upon to decide cases affecting issues that have plagued the American political [\u2026] <\/p>\n

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