Supreme Court to wrap up term with key cases

Disabled students

Must school districts reimburse the parents of a child with a disability who, acting on their own, enroll him in a private school?

School officials complain of the high cost of the private school programs. Parents say the schools have a legal duty to offer a "free, appropriate" education to a disabled child. (Forest Grove School District vs. T.A.)

Politics and movies

Can the government regulate a corporate-funded, politically charged film if it is advertised or broadcast during an election year? Or is the movie protected by the free-speech guarantee of the 1st Amendment?

This case involves "Hillary: The Movie," a documentary on DVD funded by a conservative group that had expected Hillary Rodham Clinton to emerge last year as the Democratic presidential nominee. (Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission.)

Prisoners and DNA

Do prisoners who maintain they are not guilty have a constitutional right to DNA testing of crime samples that are in custody of the police?

Most states have allowed such testing, but a few, including Alaska, have refused. (District attorney's office vs. Osborne.)

Now in his fourth term, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has moved to scale back the civil rights laws that give special protection to minorities. If he has a majority to pull back on voting rights and job discrimination, it will provide a powerful end to the court term -- and an opening salvo in the Senate's confirmation battle over Sotomayor.

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david.savage@latimes.com