Key issues await high court

WASHINGTON – The biggest news from the Supreme Court so far this session has been the health of Chief Justice William Rehnquist as the court hibernates for the holidays.

Rehnquist, 80, is working from home while undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer. But, with or without Rehnquist, the court has major cases awaiting it in the new year.

A key ruling on the constitutionality of federal sentencing guidelines could be among the first decisions in 2005. Other issues already argued but awaiting rulings include whether juvenile killers should be executed, the scope of the landmark Title IX gender equity law, the extent of government power in detaining immigrants and whether the government can prosecute people who use marijuana medicinally.

And among the cases justices will hear include a challenge to government displays of the Ten Commandments and how U.S. authorities deal with foreign nationals facing charges that could bring the death penalty.

Justices punted on a number of election cases, kicking back to a lower court a hotly contested Texas redistricting plan that drew Republican-friendly congressional boundaries, and refusing to consider voting rights for felons despite a clear split in the lower courts.

Many observers expected a decision by now on the fate of the 17-year-old federal sentencing guidelines. That case was expedited for review last summer after courts fell into disarray over whether judges, not juries, may consider factors that add years to sentences.

Justices also are behind in granting new cases, and would have to accept a bountiful 15 petitions next month to avoid an extraordinary cutback to the court’s argument schedule in March and April.