The new 2009-10 U.S. Supreme Court term officially began yesterday, and they've got some interesting cases on the docket:
McDonald v. Chicago could overrule a state's right to regulate firearms.
Salazar v. Buono will test the wall of separation between Church and State.
Citizens United v. FEC will decide on the constitutionality of limiting corporate spending on political campaigns.
Then there's Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. As they describe it over at thinkprogress.org, "[this case] concerns the power of Congress to create 'independent agencies' whose members cannot be fired at the whim of the president. Should the Court gut Congress'[s] power to create such agencies, the next Karl Rove could pressure the FCC to fine the Rachel Maddow Show while ignoring the antics of Glenn Beck, and he could strongarm the FEC into manipulating elections to benefit a future president's party."
And these cases are just the tip of the iceberg.
I'm worried about Roberts. I'm worried about Alito. I'm worried about Thomas. I'm worried about Scalia. I'm sure that there are a lot of 5-4 decisions on the way, and I'm probably not going to like all of them. But it will be an interesting time for sure.
Stay tuned for updates as this term progresses.
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