SCOTUSblog: Recent Supreme Court Filings Summary on Redistricting, Voting

• SCOTUSblog is launching a paid membership service, SCOTUSblog Plus, offering expanded daily content and supporting independent court coverage.
• The Supreme Court is currently considering new requests regarding Missouri's congressional map, the Trump administration's mail-in voting order, and the use of a DHS database for identifying noncitizens on voter rolls.
• The Trump administration has petitioned the High Court to affirm its process for appointing U.S. Attorney leaders, challenging recent federal appeals court rulings.
• An Alaska surrogate has asked the Supreme Court to intervene in a multistate custody dispute over a critically ill newborn, seeking to invalidate a California parentage order.
• The Census Bureau has proposed adding a citizenship question to the 2030 census, suggesting the exclusion of undocumented immigrants and non-permanent residents from the count.

In a highly unusual move, an Alaska surrogate is urging the Supreme Court to intervene in a complex, multistate custody battle over a critically ill newborn, seeking to overturn a California court's parentage judgment.

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The Supreme Court's interim docket has seen several significant filings recently, including a renewed challenge to Missouri's congressional redistricting map. Opponents of the map, which is perceived to favor Republicans, have once again petitioned the justices to prevent its implementation for the upcoming November elections. A response to this urgent request was due today by 10 a.m. EDT.

Separately, the Trump administration has again appealed to the Supreme Court regarding a dispute over President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting. States and various civic organizations that are challenging the order's enforcement submitted their responses to this appeal on Wednesday. Additionally, the administration has asked the High Court to authorize its use of the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to identify noncitizens present on state voter rolls. A response to this specific request is anticipated by Tuesday, September 15, at 4 p.m. EDT.

In another development, the Trump administration has filed a new petition for review, seeking the Supreme Court's endorsement of its methods for appointing leaders to U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide, bypassing standard procedures. This action follows a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which determined that Sigal Chattah was not validly serving as the lead federal prosecutor in Nevada. This appellate decision led to Chattah's disqualification from overseeing three criminal cases. Two other federal appeals courts have issued similar rulings in recent months, concluding that certain Trump allies were unlawfully installed to lead U.S. Attorney’s Offices without the requisite U.S. Senate approval. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, in the petition, contends that these three rulings conflict with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which he argues the executive branch has historically interpreted as permitting the attorney general to delegate authority when various offices are vacant.

In a highly unusual move, an Alaska surrogate is urging the Supreme Court to intervene in a complex, multistate custody battle over a critically ill newborn, seeking to overturn a California court's parentage judgment. The dispute originated when a 20-week anatomy scan revealed the fetus had a heart condition. The intended parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, subsequently opted to terminate the pregnancy. However, the surrogate, McKenna West, refused to comply and traveled to Texas, where abortions are prohibited. Following the baby's birth, a California court issued a judgment establishing Ahmed and Gilkar’s parental rights, but West is now asking the Supreme Court to invalidate that order so she can influence the newborn’s ongoing medical care.

Meanwhile, the Census Bureau has put forth a suggestion to include a citizenship question on the 2030 census, as part of a broader restructuring of the decennial questionnaire. The proposal posits that the census count should exclude undocumented immigrants and noncitizens without permanent residency, arguing that they are 'not true inhabitants, members of the body politic'.

Source: Reporting based on recent Supreme Court developments.