Reconfigured Supreme Court Takes Up Cases [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

Reconfigured Supreme Court Takes Up Cases
In their term starting today, justices will rule on issues that have split past sessions sharply.
By David G. Savage, Times Staff Writer
October 2, 2006

WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush's two appointees, will have a chance to shift the law to the right on two charged issues — abortion and race — during the Supreme Court term that starts today.

The court will decide whether doctors can be prosecuted for using an abortion procedure that critics have labeled "partial-birth abortion." And it will rule on whether school boards can maintain integrated schools by assigning some students based on their race.

In the past, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor provided the fifth vote for majority rulings that struck down abortion regulations and allowed schools and colleges to use affirmative action. Now that O'Connor has been succeeded by Alito, the balance may tip the other way.

The session will also see the court take up global warming for the first time. Environmentalists are asking the justices to force the Bush administration to limit vehicle emissions believed to contribute to climate change.

Business lawyers and consumer advocates are closely watching another case involving cigarette maker Philip Morris to see whether the high court will strictly limit "punitive" damage verdicts against corporations.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scotus2oct02,1,4014141.story?coll=la-headlines-nation