Daily Brew: When will SCOTUS release more decisions?

June 12, 2018

Plus Primary day in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Virginia   When will SCOTUS release more decisions? The Supreme Court announced four additional opinions yesterday, bringing its total decided cases for the term to 43. This term they heard 69 cases, which means we are still waiting for an outcome in 26 of them. The court's term ends on June 30, so time is running out. There are currently three more days scheduled for opinions to be released - June 14, June 18, and June 25. Although it typically releases opinions on Mondays, the court can also schedule additional days, with the most likely being Thursdays since the justices meet in conference on those days. What's left to decide? There are a trio of redistricting cases that could have national implications both in terms of racial gerrymandering (Abbott v. Perez) and partisan gerrymandering (Gill v. Whitford and Benisek v. Lamone). The other major outstanding case this term is Janus v. AFSCME. In Janus, the court will decide whether requiring public sector employees to pay union dues that contribute to processes like collective bargaining and administrative work violates their First Amendment rights. It heard a similar challenge in 2016, but no determinative ruling was reached and the court split 4-4. Learn more         President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sign agreement on denuclearization President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un concluded their summit in Singapore on Tuesday by signing a document in which Kim “reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” The document stated that Trump and Kim agreed “to build a lasting and stable peace regime” on the Korean Peninsula, “establish new U.S.-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity”, and committed to recovering the remains of prisoners of war and those missing in action. In return, Trump committed to providing security guarantees to North Korea. Trump said of the document, “I think both sides are going to be impressed with the result. We’re going to take care of a very big and very dangerous problem for the world.” Trump also said he would invite Kim to the White House to continue their talks. Speaking about the meeting and the document, Kim said, “We had a historic meeting and decided to leave the past behind. The world will see a major change.” Before signing the joint document, Trump and Kim spoke one-on-one with only their translators for about 45 minutes before participating in an expanded bilateral meeting and a working lunch. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, chief of staff John Kelly, and national security advisor John Bolton participated in the expanded talks. They then participated in a working lunch. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders attended the lunch. The summit was the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. Learn more→ Primary day in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Virginia Bookmark our results page and check back this evening for vote totals. Sign up today for our Heart of the Primaries newsletter to receive a special Wednesday edition with a review and analysis of the June 12 primaries.