Immigration tops politically charged caseload for high court

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court's decision to add immigration to its already robust list of politically charged cases means a raft of rulings in the late spring or early summer that could inject the court into the presidential campaign.

Cases involving abortion, affirmative action, labor unions and the Obama health care law have already given the high court's term a campaign-season flavor.

A ruling on President Barack Obama's authority to shield up to 5 million immigrants who are living in the United States illegally from deportation is expected to be one of the last cases argued in April and decided before the justices leave town in early summer.

Faith-based groups that say they are forced to be complicit in providing objectionable birth control to women covered under their health plans have been challenging the Obama administration for more than three years.

The court's 2010 decision in Citizens United that led to a flood of what critics call "dark money" in political campaigns remains controversial, and Democratic candidates have pledged to try to undo it.

Winkler said there is little evidence that the court has ducked politically sensitive issues, although liberal critics have said the conservative justices reached out aggressively and unnecessarily in recent years in campaign finance, voting rights and union cases.