Courtroom dramas: still missing a ninth justice, the Supreme Court considers key issues this term.

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: Cover story

For almost a year, the Supreme Court has been deciding the ultimate law of the land with just eight justices--one short of its usual nine members.

The ninth seat has been empty since Justice Antonin Scalia died last February, with the Republican-controlled Senate refusing to consider any nominee until after the election. President Trump is expected to move quickly to fill the Court's vacancy with a conservative justice.

"Trump has pledged to nominate someone in the mold of Justice Scalia, so if that person gets confirmed, we won't see a huge change in the Court," says Jeffrey Fisher, a law professor at Stanford University, in California.

Trump's appointment would likely restore the Court to its ideological balance before Scalia's death: four conservative justices, four liberal justices, and one swing vote (see graphic, p. 10).

The court already has a full docket of important issues to decide this term. Here are four key cases.

Watch a video about reporting on the Supreme Court at upfrontmagazine.com

Do cheerleading outfits deserve copyright protection?:

Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands

The fashion industry doesn't usually follow the deliberations of the Supreme Court, but clothing makers are watching this case very closely. It concerns stripes, zigzags, and other designs copyrighted by Varsity Brands, the leading seller of cheerleading uniforms. The Tennessee-based company sued Star Athletica, a Missouri-based rival company, after it started to market uniforms with similar designs.

Copyright law is very complicated, but in general it hasn't applied to most clothing. A copyright protects the originator of something creative--like a piece of music, a poem, or a photo--from having someone else profit from the copyrighted work. Courts have usually found that clothing's primary use--to cover our bodies--outweighs its creative aspects, so copyright protection is rarely given for clothing.

Varsity is hoping to convince the justices that its designs are unique enough, apart from the outfits themselves, to war rant copyright protection for the uniforms. But Star Athletica says those stripes and zigzags are generic. It also argues that the designs are an integral part of the garment itself, which can't be copyrighted.

How the Court interprets what's eligible for copyright protection could have a huge impact on the fashion industry. Blatant knockoffs of high-end fashions by mass-market clothing companies are big business. When a celebrity wears a designer gown to an awards ceremony, a cheaper version is often available at the mall within weeks. A ruling that makes it easier to copyright clothing would hurt the knockoff industry.

"If suddenly in this case we say that dresses are copyrightable ... perhaps we'll double the price of women's clothes," said Justice Stephen G. Breyer during oral arguments.

Should transgender students be able to use the school bathrooms of their choice?

Gloucester County School Board v. G.G

Gavin Grimm is a transgender boy in Gloucester, Virginia. That means he was born female but he identifies as male. When he started 10th grade at Gloucester High School in the fall of 2014, he began referring to himself publicly as a boy.

By then, Gavin (right) had already cut his hair short and started getting testosterone shots. He got permission from the school principal to begin using the boys' bathroom.

But when the community found out, a massive controversy erupted. Gloucester County's school board voted to prevent Gavin from using the boys' bathroom, and he filed a lawsuit, saying the policy violated his civil rights. That lawsuit has now made its way to the Supreme Court.

Gavin's lawyers argue that the district's bathroom policy is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which guarantees all Americans "equal protection of the laws." It comes at a time of intense debate over transgender rights. Last year, North Carolina passed a law requiring transgender people who are in government buildings to use bathrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificates. This law sparked protests, boycotts, and lawsuits. So far, efforts to repeal it have failed.

"The only thing I ever asked for was the right to be treated like everyone else," says Gavin, now 17 and a senior.

But Gary McCaleb, a lawyer with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a group supporting the school board, says the case is about protecting the...