Religion and free speech among cases justices could add

A closely watched voting rights dispute from Arizona is among five cases standing between the Supreme Court and its summer break. But even before the justices wrap up their work, likely later this week, they could say whether they’ll add more high-profile issues to what already promises to be a consequential term, beginning in October. This month, the court has already issued big decisions on health care and religious freedom. And next term, the high court has agreed to take on cases about abortion and guns. The court on Monday passed on two potentially big cases but was still considering others. Here are the issues the court declined and others the court has not yet acted on: The court on Monday declined to take an appeal by a Virginia school board asking the justices to uphold a policy that prohibits transgender students from using school bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Lower courts had struck down the policy. The case has been around for six years, since then-high school student Gavin Grimm filed a federal lawsuit over the Gloucester County board’s refusal to allow him to use the boys’ bathroom. Seventeen years after shocking photographs of prisoners being abused at the U.S.-run prison in Abu Ghraib were first made public, Iraqis who claim they were victims of torture are still seeking their day in court against a U.S. defense contractor that supplied the military with interrogators. On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to take an appeal by the company, CACI Premier Technology of Arlington, Virginia. It was appealing to the court on a technical legal issue that could have delayed or even prevented a trial. The inmates say they were beaten and tortured by military police officers who were acting at the direction of civilian interrogators who wanted the inmates “softened up” for questioning. CACI says none of its interrogators is linked to the abuse suffered by the men who are suing. The IDOC imposed a sanction requiring him to pay over $8,000 in restitution for the guard’s medical expenses, according to the Kokomo Tribune. The agency then started taking deposits made to Isby’s prison account and using they money toward restitution. The withdrawals continued after Isby was transferred to Miami Correctional. The appeals court argued the IDOC may impose restitution as a disciplinary action. The court also said while state law governs and provides means for reviewing administrative agency actions, it exempts actions related to an offender within the agency’s jurisdiction.

Town set to grow after Nebraska Supreme Court takes its side

A town southwest of Omaha is poised to double in size and add nearly 3,000 people after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in its favor in an annexation dispute with its home county. The high court ruled Friday that a lower court failed to consider future development plans in the area that Gretna sought to annex, the Omaha World-Herald reported. Gretna, with about 4,400 residents about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Omaha, sought in 2017 to annex nearly 3,000 acres that include housing subdivisions. Sarpy County filed a lawsuit challenging the annexation because the area included 22 parcels of agricultural land with rural roads and no sewer connections. A town southwest of Omaha is poised to double in size and add nearly 3,000 people after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled in its favor in an annexation dispute with its home county. The high court ruled Friday that a lower court failed to consider future development plans in the area that Gretna sought to annex, the Omaha World-Herald reported. Gretna, with about 4,400 residents about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Omaha, sought in 2017 to annex nearly 3,000 acres that include housing subdivisions. Sarpy County filed a lawsuit challenging the annexation because the area included 22 parcels of agricultural land with rural roads and no sewer connections.

Appeals court upholds guilty verdicts in NCAA bribes case

The convictions of a sports business manager and an amateur basketball coach in a conspiracy to bribe top college coaches to get them to steer NBA-bound athletes to favored handlers were upheld Friday by an appeals court. The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan affirmed the 2019 convictions of Christian Dawkins and youth basketball coach Merl Code on a single conspiracy count. Dawkins was also convicted of bribery. They were acquitted of some other charges. The prosecution resulted from a criminal probe that exposed how financial advisers and business managers paid tens of thousands of dollars to college coaches and athletes’ families to steer highly regarded high school players to big-program colleges, sometimes with the help of apparel makers who signed sponsorship deals with schools. During the trial, universities were portrayed by prosecutors as victims of greedy financial advisers and coaches while defense lawyers asserted that schools were complicit in any corruption that occurred in 2016 and 2017. Circuit Judge William J. Nardini, writing for a three-judge panel, said the judges rejected arguments that the law used to convict the men was unconstitutionally applied and that various rulings about evidence and other matters by the trial judge were erroneous. “We are unpersuaded by these arguments,” Nardini wrote, saying the judges did not agree with arguments that the federal law used to convict the men should be limited as it pertains to the universe of “agents” to be influenced or the business of the federally funded organizations involved.