Scarinci: Breathe Easy, SCOTUS is in Recess

“Ruling season” is over and SCOTUS is finally in recess.

After a harrowing month of decisions that have changed America as we knew it, the United States Supreme Court is in recess until October.

The month of June traditionally marks one of the most active periods for the U.S. Supreme Court, with the term’s most controversial and significant opinions issued as the clock clicks down on the current term. June 2025 was no exception. Last month, the justices addressed issues ranging from reverse discrimination to transgender care for minors to access to pornography.

The Supreme Court also addressed several lawsuits challenging Trump Administration policies. The Administration’s biggest win was not on the merits, but will curb the use of nationwide injunctions to block the President’s agenda. In a series of emergency orders, the Supreme Court also granted the Administration’s requests to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their homeland, grant the Department of Government Efficiency access to Social Security data, and enforce a ban on transgender Americans from serving in the military, among others.

Understanding the Supreme Court Calendar

The Supreme Court’s term begins on the first Monday of October, with oral arguments in cases held from October through April. From October through December, arguments are heard during the first two weeks of each month. From January through April, arguments are heard on the last two weeks of each month.

The Supreme Court issues opinions throughout the term. Unanimous decisions are often released sooner, sometimes as early as December. Meanwhile, controversial opinions, even if heard in October, may not be handed down until the end of the term. The Supreme Court’s term ends in late June or early July, with the justices issuing their final opinions before taking a summer recess. As a result, the month of June is often referred to as “ruling season.”

Key SCOTUS Decisions in June 2025

The Supreme Court released a flood of opinions in June. Below are some of the most important:

• Reverse Discrimination: Early in the month, the Court decided a closely watched case involving reverse discrimination. The Court held in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services that reverse discrimination cases should not be subject to a higher legal standard. According to the unanimous Court, the Sixth Circuit’s “background circumstances” rule, which requires members of a majority group to satisfy a heightened evidentiary standard to prevail on a Title VII discrimination claim, is not consistent with either the text of Title VII or the Court’s existing precedents.
• Mexico Gun Suit: In Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, the Court unanimously rejected a lawsuit by the Mexican government against U.S. gun manufacturers seeking to hold them accountable for escalating gun violence in Mexico. The Court found that because Mexico’s complaint failed to plausibly allege that the defendant gun manufacturers aided and abetted gun dealers’ unlawful sales of firearms to Mexican traffickers, the suit was barred under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which prohibits certain lawsuits against manufacturers and sellers of firearms.
• Swat Raid Error: In Martin v. United States, the Court held that the victims of a SWAT raid conducted on the wrong house should be allowed to pursue their suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
• Transgender Care for Minors: One of the biggest cases of the term involved a legal challenge to a Tennessee law that bans gender transition care for minors. In United States v. Skrmetti, the justices held that the law was not subject to heightened scrutiny under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment because it does not classify on the basis of sex. Instead, it “prohibits healthcare providers from administering puberty blockers and hormones to minors for certain medical uses, regardless of a minor’s sex.” The Court further held that the law is constitutional under rational basis review.
• LGBTQ-themed Books in Classrooms: Another controversial case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, involved whether public schools burden parents’ religious rights when they require elementary school students to participate in instruction on LGBTQ-themed books against their parents’ religious convictions and without notice or opportunity to opt out. The Court ultimately held that the the Montgomery County Board of Education’s policy, along with its decision to withhold parental opt outs from that instruction, substantially interferes with the religious development of the challengers’ children. Thus, theyare entitled to a preliminary injunction.
• Access to Pornography: In Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring certain commercial websites publishing sexually explicit content that is obscene to minors to verify that visitors are 18 or older. By a vote of 6-3, the majority determined that the law only incidentally burdens the protected speech of adults and survives intermediate scrutiny under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause.
• Universal Injunctions: President Trump scored a significant win in Trump v. CASA, Inc. The justices not only granted the Government’s applications to partially stay three injunctions entered by lower courts blocking his executive order ending birthright citizenship, but also curtailed the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions going forward. According to the majority, universal injunctions are an inappropriate form of relief when they go beyond what is necessary to give the specific parties before the court complete relief, noting that “complete relief” is not synonymous with “universal relief.” Notably, the Court did not address the merits of the executive order. Justice Sonia Sotomayor read her dissent from the bench. “By stripping all federal courts, including itself, of [equitable] power, the court kneecaps the judiciary’s authority to stop the executive from enforcing even the most unconstitutional policies,” she wrote.

What’s Next?

The justices are now on summer recess, and the Court is adjourned until Monday, October 6, at 10 o’clock. While the Court will continue to add cases to its docket for the next term, the justices have already added some hot-button issues, including campaign-finance spending.

For those who want an easy to read summary of key United States Supreme Court decisions or just about anything else involving the United States Constitution, the Constitutional Law Reporter ranks as #54 out of the top 100 Legal blogs in America according to Feedspot.