SCOTUS Nears End of Term With Big Cases06/29 06:20

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court is wrapping up a term that has focused 
on President Donald Trump's expansive claims of presidential power.

   Trump's efforts to restrict birthright citizenship, fire the heads of most 
independent agencies at will and remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor are 
among the remaining eight cases the justices are expected to decide this week, 
beginning Monday.

   The court also is weighing, in cases from West Virginia and Idaho, whether 
to uphold laws in roughly half the states that prohibit transgender girls and 
women from playing on their public school and college sports.

   Two election-related cases remain, over state laws that allow a grace period 
for the receipt of mailed ballots, provided they are sent by Election Day, and 
limits on political party spending in support of candidates for Congress and 
president.

   Also outstanding is a dispute over geofence warrants that collect the 
location history of cellphone users to find people near crime scenes. Critics 
say the practice is a fishing expedition that violates civil liberties.

   The court's conservative majority has so far been mostly receptive to 
Trump's immigration crackdown, including a decision last week allowing the 
administration to end temporary legal protections for people who came to the 
U.S. because of war or natural disaster in their homeland. Another decision 
could make it harder for people fleeing persecution to seek asylum in the 
United States.

   During arguments in April, the justices signaled a more skeptical look at 
Trump's executive order that would overturn long-settled understanding and deny 
citizenship to children born to parents who are in the country illegally or 
temporarily.

   The court also has rejected Trump's assertion of the power to unilaterally 
impose wide-ranging tariffs under an emergency powers law.

   The decision in February drew Trump's ire, including an unusually harsh and 
personal denunciation of two of his court appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and 
Amy Coney Barrett, who voted against him.

   The extent of Trump's power to fire independent agency members is the oldest 
undecided case, argued in December. The justices seem likely to overturn, or 
drastically narrow, a 91-year-old decision. It required a cause, like neglect 
of duty, before a president could remove the Senate-confirmed officials from 
their jobs.

   The outcome appears to be in little doubt because the conservatives have 
allowed the firings to take effect while the case plays out, even after 
lower-court judges found the firings illegal.

   The court seemed less willing to endorse Trump's bid to immediately fire 
Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, which 
she denies. No president has ever fired a Fed governor in the agency's 112-year 
history.

   By custom, the court finishes its work before July 4. After this week, its 
next public meeting is the first Monday in October.