Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Ends Term. Birthright, Sports, Immigration Decisions. Power of 6-3

The U.S. Supreme Court – SCOTUS – ended its term with decisions that will ripple through politics, schools, elections, immigration policy and everyday life— and with a pattern hard to miss. Again and again, some of the Court’s biggest rulings came down 6–3, underscoring both the power of the conservative majority and the sharp divide over where American law is headed.

1. Transgender athletes / girls’ sports — The Court upheld state laws in West Virginia and Idaho barring transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams. The Court ruled that such bans do not violate Title IX; the justices split more sharply on the constitutional equal-protection question. Vote 6-3  (21 states do not restrict trans athletes in girls’ sports)

2. Birthright citizenship — The Court rejected attempts to restrict birthright citizenship. The ruling keeps in place the long-standing understanding that nearly all children born in the United States are citizens under the 14th Amendment, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Vote 6-3

3. Immigration — TEMPORARY Protected Status and asylum cases
Separate from birthright citizenship, the Court sided with immigration enforcement that now allows an end to Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians, and upheld border “metering,” which lets officials turn back asylum seekers when ports are overwhelmed.  Vote 6-3

4. Guns / public carry — Wolford v. Lopez
The Court struck down a Hawaii law requiring gun owners to get explicit permission before carrying on private property open to the public, such as stores or hotels – a significant Second Amendment ruling. Vote 6-3

5. Campaign finance — Lifts limits on party spending coordinated with candidates, treats that spending as protected speech, and could matter immediately in the midterms. Major First Amendment/campaign-money decision. Money=Speech. Vote 6-3

6. Presidential power / independent agencies — Trump v. Slaughter
The Court said the president has broader power to fire leaders of independent agencies, striking down FTC removal protections. This is a change in the balance between the White House and federal regulators. The Court treated the Federal Reserve separately. Vote 6-3

7. Trump tariffs — Learning Resources v. Trump
The Court struck down Pres. Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs, ruling that the emergency-powers law used did not authorize the president to impose those tariffs. Huge for the economy, imports, prices, businesses and presidential power. Vote 6-3

8. Voting Rights Act / redistricting — Louisiana v. Callais
This was a major election-law/civil-rights ruling. he conservative majority struck down Louisiana’s map with a second majority-Black congressional district, saying the map relied too heavily on race. Vote 6-3

9. Digital privacy / cellphone location data — Chatrie v. United States
The Court ruled that police use of Google geofence/location data is a Fourth Amendment search. Big for privacy, policing and smartphones. Police cannot sweep up phone-location data around a crime scene without constitutional limits. Vote 6-3

10. Roundup / Monsanto lawsuits — Monsanto v. Durnell
The Court sided with Monsanto, ruling that federal pesticide-labeling law blocks state failure-to-warn claims seeking a cancer warning on Roundup when EPA had approved the label without one. Vote 7-2

Here is how the votes broke down on major rulings this session:

Among the year’s biggest, headline-level Supreme Court rulings, most were decided 6–3. The exceptions in this roundup were Monsanto/Roundup, decided 7–2, and the Federal Reserve removal case, decided 5–4.

The Court issued dozens of opinions this term, and many were unanimous or had different vote splits. The official SCOTUS opinion page lists the term’s released opinions, and Ballotpedia had counted 61 opinions as of June 25, before the final batch.

Readers can review the full Supreme Court opinions here:
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinion/25