Supreme Court to hear South Carolina, CFPB cases in October

The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for October in cases involving South Carolina’s congressional map and the funding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The court on Friday announced its October argument calendar, the first month of the court’s next annual term. Decisions in the cases are expected by summer 2024.

On Oct. 3, the justices will hear a challenge to the funding structure of the CFPB, which was created following the 2008 financial crisis as part of the Dodd-Frank Act to enforce consumer protection laws.

The CFPB receives up to a capped amount of funding each year from the Federal Reserve’s earnings, and the Supreme Court is set to decide whether the setup is unconstitutional by bypassing Congress’s power of the purse.

The case arises out of two associations’ challenge to the CFPB’s payday lending rule, which places restrictions on how a payday lender can attempt to collect on a loan.

The Justice Department says ruling in their favor would call into question virtually every action the CFPB has taken since it was created.

The dispute has attracted the attention of all 50 state attorneys general. The country’s 27 Republican state attorneys general are supporting the challenge, while 23 Democratic state attorneys general, also joined by D.C., are backing the Justice Department.

The following week, the Supreme Court on Oct. 11 will hear arguments over whether South Carolina’s congressional map must be redrawn.

State Republican lawmakers are appealing the ruling of a three-judge district court panel, which struck down the lawmakers’ map as being specifically designed to dilute the power of Black voters. The challenge was brought by a resident of the district and the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP.

The dispute focuses on the state’s 1st Congressional District, which is represented by Rep. Nancy Mace (R). Mace narrowly defeated her Democratic opponent in 2020, and under the redrawn lines two years later, she won reelection by nearly 14 percentage points.

The Supreme Court will hear four other cases during its first argument session of the term.

It will kick off the two-week session Oct. 2, when the justices will hear a case interpreting a sentencing provision in the First Step Act, a major criminal justice reform bill passed in 2018.

On Oct. 4, the high court will consider who has the authority to bring lawsuits against hotels when they fail to provide accessibility information on their websites, as required under federal law.

On Oct. 10, the justices will consider two cases: First, they will hear a case involving corporate whistleblowers, and second, they will consider a dispute related to maritime contracts.