Cases before the highest court

Here’s a glance at some of the questions pending before the U.S. Supreme Court:

>> Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association — Will public sector unions be allowed to collect dues for activities such as collective bargaining, even from workers who decline to join?

>> Evenwel v. Abbott — Will voting districts be based on the count of the total population or of voters?

>> Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole — Are the Texas restrictions on abortion clinic operations an unconstitutional bar on access to abortion services?

>> Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo — Will restrictions on employees defending their rights through class action lawsuits be upheld or struck down?

>> Zubik v. Burwell — Does a requirement that employers cover contraception for women as part of employer-provided health insurance violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act?

>> Fisher v. University of Texas — Can affirmative-action programs in public institutions of higher education be found constitutional?

>> U.S. v. Texas — Was President Barack Obama within his constitutional rights to execute the Deferred Action to Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program, which protects certain categories of undocumented immigrants from deportation?

>> Foster v. Chatman — Should a conviction of a black man in a death-penalty case be struck down because the all-white jury was selected through the systematic exclusion of black jurors?