The U.S. Supreme Court has a big month ahead, deciding cases such as Fulton v. City of Philadelphia - which concerns religious liberties of an adoption agency and the city’s antidiscrimination policies.
And with the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020, the high court now has a clear conservative lean.
Steve Sanders is a professor in the IU Maurer School of Law. He said people will be watching to see what type of impact Barrett has on religious liberty cases.
So far, Sanders says, she hasn’t shown strong biases through her questioning.
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“She’s not somebody who very often seems to tip her hand," he said. "So I think it remains to be seen. I think where she comes out in this first kind of major case will tell us a lot about that.”
The case of Fulton v. Philadelphia was argued before the Court in November. It concerns a Christian adoption agency which lost its contract with the City of Philadelphia after the city learned the agency was refusing to place children with same-sex couples.
The city says the agency was in violation of their nondiscrimination policies. The agency says the policies violate its First Amendment rights.
