Law360 (May 27, 2021, 1:55 PM EDT) -- The Supreme Court handed down rulings affecting immigrants, Superfund pollution sites and more this week as it works to clear its docket of argued cases before summer recess. Law360's The Term recaps all the latest developments, including a prisoner's failed attempt to be executed by firing squad rather than lethal injection that he says will cause severe pain.

Each week on The Term, Supreme Court reporter Jimmy Hoover and co-host Natalie Rodriguez break down all the high court action.

This week, The Term examines the court's latest opinions. Up first, Jimmy discusses a Monday ruling making it harder for immigrants charged with unlawful reentry to challenge their underlying deportation orders. Next, Natalie takes a look at Guam's victory over the U.S. government in a dispute over cleanup costs for the Ordot dump, which was used by the Navy as a site for military waste like Agent Orange before being used as a municipal landfill.

Finally, Jimmy takes a look at the court's decision to refuse an appeal from Ernest Johnson, a death row inmate who claims that the state's plan to execute him by lethal injection will cause excruciating pain as a result of epilepsy caused by a brain tumor and damage from brain surgery. Johnson had sought the firing squad as an alternative method, but the Supreme Court denied his appeal without explanation on Monday.

The Supreme Court's three liberal justices dissented to the denial of review, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor saying the state is now free to execute Johnson with a method that the court must assume to be "akin to torture."

More information about the show can be found here. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play and iHeartRadio. And if you like the show, please leave a written review! It helps others find us more easily.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.