WHAT COMES NEXT

The year 2015 included its lot of consequential cases.  None received more press than the decision prohibiting bans on sex-same marriages across the country.  None excited political activists as much as Obamacare being saved a second time around.  Lethal injection barely passed muster.  A gaggle of free-speech cases saw cities and states lose power over regulating signs, gain it over picking license plate designs, and left everyone to guess what really makes up a criminal threat online.

Not all legal stories came from Supreme Court.  Immigration from Latin America and Syria alike has given rise to legal fights and questions about separation of power.  Grand juries and trial courts have wrestled with intense public attention over police shootings.

What 2016 will bring remains to be seen.  Prediction is an awfully difficult business, especially about the future (to paraphrase a Danish proverb, if we’re not mistaken).  Yet we know that three particular Supreme Court cases will be decided that all started in Texas and that will all attract attention.

One will decide whether “one-person one-vote” must be taken literally, or should be better understood to mean one-voter one-vote, meaning congressional districts would be based on the number of eligible voters rather than total population.  Another will consider a law on medical credentialing that has had for effect to close nearly all abortion clinics in that state by requiring they be within a short distance of a hospital.  It reportedly was passed with abortion in mind, couched in medical safety to survive the constitutional challenge that has now come.  The third case will bring affirmative action once more under scrutiny.

At the Roth Law Firm, we will (most likely) remain away from the limelight of pseudo-political issues and the siren song ivory towers.  We will concentrate, as we always have, on fighting for our clients in the trenches of everyday business.  We look forward to being part of the First Coast’s business community for another 366 days.  A happy and prosperous New Year to all.