Banging the Gavel: 

 Supreme Court Decisions That Shook the Nation this Summer

September 3-5, 2024 / Noon - 1 p.m. ET

In Person or Virtual

Georgia State University College of Law
85 Park Place NE, Room 241

Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Following ethics transgressions and controversial decisions over the past few years, the U.S. Supreme Court entered this term with historically low approval ratings. Despite this, the Court did not shy away from issuing monumental rulings in many high-profile cases this term. These decisions range from expanding presidential immunity to limiting administrative authority. Topics also vary from free speech to gun control to abortion to homelessness and more. 

The Centers for Law, Health & Society, Access to Justice, and Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth host this three-part series featuring panels of Georgia State Law professors. They will discuss these critical cases, including the facts, how the court decided, and the potential impact of the decisions going forward.

The sessions in this series are free and open to the public. Attendees may join for one or more of these sessions in person or virtually. Lunch will be provided, on a first come first served basis. Attorneys can receive up to 3 hours of GA CLE.
 

Part 1 - Agency Action Under Attack
Tuesday, September 3, 12-1 p.m. ET
Speakers: Rob Weber, John Marshall, and Anjali Deshmukh 

Under the Chevron Doctrine, the Supreme Court has long deferred to agencies’ reasonable interpretation of the law. The Court’s decision in this summer’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo has overturned Chevron.  In combination with cases such as Ohio v EPA, SEC v Jarkesy, and Corner Post vs Federal Reserve System, this creates new obstacles to agency action. Even seemingly favorable decisions released this summer, such as Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and Murthi v. Missouri, have implications for who has standing to challenge agency actions. This session will examine these cases, and discuss the potential impact, including how agencies like FDA, CMS, CFPB, and EPA will implement these decisions, how the entities they regulate will respond, how Congress may legislate, and how the courts may resolve disputes going forward. 

Part 2 - Prison or Pardon Politics?
Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 12-1 p.m. ET
Speakers: Eric Segall and Anthony Kries

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign for a second presidential term has been plagued by legal questions. Can states disqualify a Presidential candidate who has arguably been involved in insurrection? Is a former President immune from criminal prosecution for acts committed during his presidential term, whether official or unofficial? The Supreme Court’s decisions in these cases are demonstrably pro-Trump for the immediate election cycle. Speakers will break down the Court’s decisions in Trump v. U.S. and Trump v. Anderson for the impact on future Presidents and candidates and examine what could happen in the hypothetical extreme.
 

Part 3 - High Court, Hot Topics
Thursday, September 5, 2024, 12-1 p.m. ET
Speakers: Allison Whelan, Alexandra Eichenbaum, and Cortney Lollar

The Supreme Court released decisions in many cases on controversial topics this summer, from abortion, to housing, to firearms. In Moyle v. U.S. and Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance Hippocratic Medicine, the Court decided on the cases on technical grounds, avoiding the merits yet setting the stage for future litigation on abortion. In the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson the Court found that enforcing a public camping ban against people who are unhoused is not cruel or unusual punishment. The Court rejected a Second Amendment challenge to a federal law banning gun possession by people under domestic violence restraining orders in U.S. v. Rahami, and in so doing, began to provide some guidance regarding the parameters of its prior decision allowing gun restrictions only when consistent with a “historical tradition” of such firearm regulation in the U.S.  Speakers will share how each of these cases have significant implications for low income and marginalized communities.

Web Link

For attendees participating remotely, the virtual link will be provided in advance of the event. 

Directions and Parking

For directions to Georgia State Law, click here. Parking for attendees is available in T deck or additional public parking is nearby.

Contact
Email lawandhealth@gsu.edu with any questions or concerns.

Additional Resources Related to this Event

• Summary of 2023-2024 Supreme Court decisions
• Food and Drug Administration v Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine—A Cautious Win for Reproductive Health Care and FDA Authority
• EMTALA article, forthcoming
• U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Camping Bans, but Challenges of Addressing Homelessness Remain
• Supreme Court upholds bar on guns under domestic violence restraining orders
• SCOTUS’s 2nd Amendment Decision Leaves Open Questions for State Courts
• Supreme Power — The Loss of Judicial Deference to Health Agencies