Antonin Scalia’s death could lead to more 4-4 ties. Here’s what happens if it does.

[applegrove]

Antonin Scalia’s death could lead to more 4-4 ties. Here’s what happens if it does.

by Libby Nelson at Vox

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/13/10987116/scalia-supreme-court-tie

"SNIP...........


Here are some of the most consequential cases still pending before the court. It's not clear that all of them were likely to result in 5-4 splits, but here's what could happen if they end up as a 4-4 tie:

Whole Women's Health v. Cole: A challenge to the Texas law that has closed about half of the state's abortion clinics since 2013, and the first major abortion case in nearly a decade. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled largely in favor of the law, meaning a tie would leave it in place without setting a new precedent on abortion.

US v. Texas: The challenge to President Obama's 2014 executive action on immigration, which would protect about 4 million people — including unauthorized immigrants who'd come to the US as children and are now older than 30, as well as some parents of US citizens or permanent residents — from deportation. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Obama administration in November; a tie would uphold that decision.

Evenwel v. Abbott: A case considering whether all residents or only eligible voters should be counted when drawing state legislative districts. Counting those who are not eligible to vote — convicted felons, immigrants who are not citizens, and children, among others — generally helps Democrats; not counting those people would give a bigger voice to white and rural voters. The lower court, the US District Court for the western district of Texas, held that everyone should be counted; a tie would uphold that.

Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association: A case challenging whether public employees who are not members of a union can be required to pay an "agency fee" or "fair share fee" to cover the cost of collective bargaining for the contract that also applies to them. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the California nonunion teachers who argued they should not have to pay, but they did so for the case to be appealed to the Supreme Court, which would have to overturn a precedent to find in the nonunion teachers' favor.



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[Ex Lurker]

1. That covers it when there's no disagreement between lower circuits

If circuits are in disagreement, both lower rulings stand, and are binding on their respective jurisdictions, but no precedent is set. The Court can, and probably will, revisit the issue in the future to settle the matter.