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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued rulings in two little-known cases, setting Thursday as the last day of its term with two hit rulings.
It remains for the court to decide a case on the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue basic rules and a second case on whether President Joe Biden should impose the “Stay in Mexico” policy.
Decisions – or decisions – on at least one of these cases were expected on Wednesday, but instead the court issued two minor rulings on the federal government’s criminal jurisdiction over Native American reservations and veteran recruitment rules.
The Supreme Court has only two major cases left to decide. (AP Photo / Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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The case over veteran recruitment rules, Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety, may be Judge Stephen Breyer’s final opinion before retiring at the end of that term.
Breyer wrote the opinion of the majority, which was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Judges Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Brett Cavanaugh. The court ruled that Texas was required by federal law to return his police work to an Afghan veteran who fell ill with toxic burns after returning to the United States.
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“Torres asked his former employer, the Texas Department of Public Security (Texas) defendant, to take care of his condition by reassigning him to another role,” Breyer wrote.
However, federal law requires state governments to return jobs to returning veterans, and the court ruled that Texas must comply with the law.
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“If a state – or even 25 states – decides to protest a war by refusing to hire returning troops, Congress will say Texas will be powerless to resolve private recovery cases against those states,” Breyer said. “The potentially disabling effect on national security will not matter.”
He continued: “We think it matters for a simple reason. The text, history and precedents show that the states, uniting to form an alliance, agreed to sacrifice their sovereign immunity for the good of the common defense. “
Tyler Olson covers Fox News Digital policy. You can contact him at tyler.olson@fox.com and follow him on Twitter at @ TylerOlson1791.
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