KQED's Forum Supreme Court Term Will Test the Scope of Presidential Power
Oct 9, 2025
Join legal experts Mark Joseph Stern, a senior writer at Slate, Melissa Murray, a law professor at NYU, and Olatunde C. Johnson, a professor at Columbia Law, as they dissect the Supreme Court's new term. They explore the implications of potential rulings on presidential power, the Voting Rights Act, and transgender athlete rights. The panel also examines the impact of amicus briefs and the court's evolving stance on race-conscious voting remedies. Insights into the court's conservative shift and the risks of ignoring precedent add depth to their analysis.
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Tariff Power Tests Statutory Limits
- The administration cites a broad emergency statute to justify unilateral tariffs, stretching statutory text beyond clear terms.
- A ruling against that claim would limit presidents from using vague statutes to enact major economic policy.
Voting Rights Act Section 2 At Risk
- Louisiana v. Cailas could further erode Section 2 enforcement by treating remedial race-conscious maps as unconstitutional.
- The decision may effectively gut the main post-Shelby mechanism for challenging discriminatory voting maps.
Colorblind Doctrine Threatens Remedial Race Law
- Some justices prioritize a colorblind view of the Constitution, making remedial race-conscious measures suspect.
- That approach departs from the Reconstruction-era intent and undermines long-standing voting protections.