Supreme Court Civil Rights Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court resumes work on Monday, confronting a caseload that could prove every bit as contentious as the legal battle over healthcare reform.

Among the most bitterly fought cases are expected to be a number aimed at overturning longstanding civil rights laws by a clutch of Republican-run states who claim they are outdated and unjustly discriminatory against white people.

The cases have the potential to strike at the heart of more than half a century of civil rights legislation by potentially abolishing central government oversight of elections in states with a history of systematic racism and dealing a fatal blow to affirmative action in higher education.

The Supreme Court is also likely to take up a more recent human rights issue with equally strong political overtones – gay marriage.

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