WASHINGTON — A short-handed Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request from the Obama administration to reconsider a major immigration decision, dooming for now President Barack Obama’s plan to spare millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation. ADVERTISING WASHINGTON —
WASHINGTON — A short-handed Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request from the Obama administration to reconsider a major immigration decision, dooming for now President Barack Obama’s plan to spare millions of unauthorized immigrants from deportation.
The court also declined to hear more than 1,000 petitions seeking review in cases that had piled up during the justices’ summer break. Among them were ones concerning what college athletes may earn, the Washington Redskins’ trademarks and a campaign finance investigation in Wisconsin. Adhering to its custom, the court did not give reasons for turning down the cases.
The request that the justices rehear the immigration case came after a deadlock in the case in June. The 4-4 tie left in place an appeals court ruling that had blocked Obama’s plan, which also would have allowed the unauthorized immigrants to work legally in the United States.
The Supreme Court has been without its standard nine members since Justice Antonin Scalia died in February. The tie vote in the case, United States v. Texas, No. 15-674, set no precedent. The court did not disclose how the justices had voted.
The administration’s petition seeking rehearing said a matter of such importance should be resolved by a nine-member Supreme Court, which “should be the final arbiter of these matters through a definitive ruling.”
The administration acknowledged that the immigration case was at an early stage and could again reach the court in a later appeal. But the petition said there was a “strong need for definitive resolution by this court at this stage.”
The Supreme Court also declined to hear a case about whether the NCAA violated federal antitrust laws by restricting what college athletes can earn.
Last year, the federal appeals court in California issued a decision that managed to make both sides unhappy. The court ruled against the association, saying its amateurism rule violated the antitrust laws.
But the court went on to say that the association may restrict colleges from compensating athletes beyond offering scholarships and a few thousand dollars for “the cost of attendance.” The appeals court rejected a trial judge’s proposed alternative that colleges be allowed to pay athletes up to $5,000 a year in deferred compensation.
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