A DIVIDED SUPREME COURT ISSUES RULINGS ON ABORTION, TRAVEL BAN, CELLPHONE TRACKING AND ONLINE SALES TAX

By Miriam Raftery

June 26, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – The U.S. Supreme Court has issued 5-4 rulings in several landmark cases, with conservatives pushing through two major decisions, but two other decisions splitting the ideological divide.

The conservative majority voted as a block to uphold the Trump administration’s travel ban from several mostly Muslim nations, citing national security concerns, the Washington Post reports.  

In a second 5-4 decision, the same conservative majority ruled that crisis pregnancy centers run by anti-abortion groups do not have to disclose available of state-run alternatives including abortion, according to the Washington Post.

But in another 5-4 decision, some liberal justices joined some conservatives to rule that states can collect online state sales taxes from online retailers on consumer purchases, according to National Public Radio’s report.

In a fourth case, four liberal justices joined with John Roberts, the swing vote, to rule that law enforcement must obtain a warrant before obtaining cellphone tracking records from telephone companies, the Los Angeles Times reports.