The Supreme Court faces another term jam-packed with controversy

The U. S. Supreme Court begins its new term Monday with a docket heavy on religion, gun rights, climate liability, immigration and, later, election law. NPR reports that the justices are also handling a surge of emergency appeals. Georgetown law professor Stephen Vladeck notes that the court now issues twice as many full-court rulings on those applications as on argued cases. Such rulings come quickly, without oral argument and with little explanation, and lower court judges across the ideological spectrum say they need more guidance. The Trump administration has also frequently skipped over appeals courts it considers hostile.

The first argument asks whether state and local governments can bring suits over claims that fossil fuel companies misled people about the harm their products cause. Most observers expect environmentalists to struggle.

The religion dispute may carry the broadest consequences. A Colorado parish, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton, wants funding from the state's universal preschool program while declining LGBTQ students and children of gay or trans parents. The state says that would break its anti-discrimination law. Last term, a 4-4 split left in place an Oklahoma ruling against funding religious charter schools, but Justice Amy Coney Barrett is participating this time.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NPR’s reporting. Read the full story at NPR →