Supreme Court upholds gender discrimination ruling, takes 4 more cases

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday affirmed [opinion, PDF] a lower court decision in Flores-Villar v. United States [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report] upholding a gender-based distinction in two former sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Justice Elena Kagan took no part in the decision, and the court split 4-4, resulting in the decision [opinion, PDF] by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] being upheld. Petitioner Ruben…