Supreme Court Rejects Cases on Graduation Music, Asian Carp, Abortion Protests
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down cases involving a ban on religious music at high school graduation, fears of an Asian carp invasion, and abortion clinic protests.
In a fourth case, considered a victory for the federal government, the Supreme Court let stand an order barring federal judges from ruling on the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay. “While the Court granted review of four new cases on Monday, some of its most important actions came in denials of review,” SCOTUSblog reports.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented (PDF) from the court’s refusal to hear the graduation music case. The suit was brought by a high school student who challenged school officials’ decision to bar an instrumental version of “Ave Maria” at her graduation, the Associated Press reports. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled against the student. “The 9th Circuit’s decision in this case is not easy to square with our free speech jurisprudence,” Alito wrote.
In the abortion case, the Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to a Massachusetts law creating a protest-free zone of 35 feet around abortion clinics, the Associated Press reports.
The Supreme Court also rejected a renewed request for an order to close shipping locks in an effort to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, the Associated Press reports in a separate story. The new request cited additional evidence of an invasion by the fish, according to SCOTUSblog.
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