After a tumultuous and historic past term, the Supreme Court is gearing up to tackle several notable cases starting next week. Our prayers can begin now.

From The Washington Times. It will be tough to top the Supreme Court’s last term for sheer impact, but the justices seem game to give it a go with a lineup of election, religious liberty and affirmative action cases they’ve teed up for the term that begins next week. …

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The first high-profile case will come to the justices on Oct. 4 out of Alabama, where the state’s new map of congressional districts is under assault by civil rights groups who say it cheats Black voters out of political power.

On Oct. 31, the court will take up two affirmative action cases challenging admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both of which are intended to give an extra boost to Black and Hispanic applicants.

After years of sidestepping issues of First Amendment speech versus gay rights, the justices are being asked to confront the issue squarely in a case involving a website designer who doesn’t want to be forced to create pages for same-sex weddings.

And a major test of President Biden’s immigration policy looms in December, with a case involving Homeland Security’s attempt to limit arrests and deportations. …

Race and representation

Where past cases saw White plaintiffs, the two cases the justices will hear — Students for Fair Admissions v President and Fellows at Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina — point to discrimination against Asians as a result of the schools’ policies.

Race is also at the center of the challenge to Alabama’s congressional districts, after a lower court panel of judges ruled a state with a 27% Black population should have at least two of its seven seats be tilted toward Black voters. Currently, only one seat has a majority-Black voter population.

State officials say they took a race-neutral approach to drawing their maps, barely changing them from the previous set. The state says that if it is forced to create a second Black-dominated district that would effectively be elevating race above all other considerations in the map making.

The case goes to the heart of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which encouraged states to elevate Black voters’ power while barring discrimination based on race. …

Voting and elections

A second major election challenge looms out of North Carolina, where a state court struck down the congressional map lawmakers drew.

The Republican-controlled legislature says state courts should butt out. They point to a clause in the U.S. Constitution that says the “times, places and manner” of electing members of Congress “shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.” …

Critics argue the claim over state legislative supremacy is novel — and based on an erroneous understanding of what the founders meant. …

First Amendment

Justices also have yet to schedule a date for argument in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which is the latest free speech-gay rights case to come before the high court.

Lorie Smith, owner of 303 Creative, a web design firm in Colorado, says state law forces her to accept clients who want her to use her creative talent on websites celebrating same-sex weddings, which contradict her own beliefs.

A federal appeals court ruled against Ms. Smith, saying the state’s interest in equal access to a place of business trumps her free speech right. …

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(Excerpt from The Washington Times. Photo Credit: Canva)