SCOTUS October Term is starting today.

[Wisconsin Beth]

On Monday, the Justices will meet for the “Long Conference” – their first Conference since the end of June, at which they will consider roughly two thousand petitions for review. Based on past practice, grants from that Conference are likely to be released later that week.

It's a blurb from SCOTUSBlog.com so I don't have an actual link.  But we should start getting solid data on upcoming cases later this week, if I understand the process. 

And I have no idea what kind of criteria they use to wade though the petitions.  If/when I do, I'll update here, in case anyone else is curious too. 

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

A Term of the Supreme Court begins, by statute, on the first Monday in October.

There's a rather classic film by that very title, actually! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Monday_in_October_%28film%29

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 28, 2015 14:42:07 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

A Term of the Supreme Court begins, by statute, on the first Monday in October.

There's a rather classic film by that very title, actually! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Monday_in_October_%28film%29

But they're there, doing work.  Doesn't that make today the first day of the term, regardless of the statute?  Now I'm curious about that statute! 

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

I suspect they may have (gasp) actually been there last week .... but the term is (supposedly) considered opened on the First Monday in October. I'll see if I can find the statute ....

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

28 U.S. Code § 2 - Terms of court

The Supreme Court shall hold at the seat of government a term of court commencing on the first Monday in October of each year and may hold such adjourned or special terms as may be necessary.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 869.)


A Term of the Supreme Court begins, by statute, on the first Monday in October. Usually Court sessions continue until late June or early July. The Term is divided between "sittings," when the Justices hear cases and deliver opinions, and intervening "recesses," when they consider the business before the Court and write opinions. Sittings and recesses alternate at approximately two-week intervals.
www.supremecourt.gov/about/procedures.aspx

[fishy999]

Does it matter anymore?  Half the country see them as illegitimate because they didn't side with them. States are passing unconstitutional laws to ignore legal precedent.  Forget next term- how is this long over term going to end?  

[Wisconsin Beth]

Breaking News :

The Court has granted thirteen new cases for its upcoming Term. The Court did not act on United States v. Newman, the insider trading case. The order list is now online.

www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/100115zr_o759.pdf

[Wisconsin Beth]

www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/10/supreme_court_2015_cases_on_affirmative_action_unions_abortion_voting_rights.html

The 2015 term is poised to begin, and the Supreme Court has already agreed to hear 34 of the 70 some cases it will decide this year. The court broke left on some big cases last term, but the theme of this upcoming year at the court may well be: Is the court moving right, or far right, or really, really far right?

In most of the blockbuster cases already granted, we see the return of disputes that the court has either batted away before or moved on incrementally. Issues such as abortion, union fees, affirmative action, and juvenile justice are coming back for another hearing. The question now is whether change happens in big steps or baby steps. Here are some of the cases to watch:

One Person, One Vote?  Evenwel v. Abbott is a seemingly abstract case with awkward racial and political undertones.

Public-Sector Unions  Public-sector unions have been on constitutional life support for years—and this term, the court’s conservatives may finally pull the plug.

Affirmative Action   Back in 2003, the court held in Grutter v. Bollinger by a 5–4 margin that colleges and universities could use race as a factor in their admissions policies “to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body.” Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at the time famously predicted that the need for affirmative action might fade away in 25 years.

Abortion  There is not yet an abortion case on the docket for the 2015 term, but buckle in: There probably will be. Two cases are currently before the justices, who will decide soon whether to hear the first major reproductive rights case since 2007.  On top of these cases, there is also a growing likelihood that the court will have to look at whether religious nonprofits are burdened even by the accommodation that allows them to opt out of providing employees with contraception to which they are entitled under the Affordable Care Act. In each of these reproductive rights cases, all eyes will be on Justice Kennedy: If the Kennedy who voted to uphold Roe v. Wade in 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision shows up, the right to choose will live another day. If he decides to fret about maternal regrets as he did in 2007’s Gonzales v Carhart, abortion rights for women in many states will all but evaporate.

Life Sentencing for Juveniles   In 2012, in Miller v. Alabama, the court ruled that juveniles found guilty of murder could not be sentenced to a mandatory life sentence without parole. (The decision was 5–4, with Kennedy swinging liberal.) In Montgomery v. Louisiana, the issue is simply whether the Miller rule must be applied retroactively—that is, to defendants who were sentenced before juvenile mandatory life without parole was invalidated.

Last term ended with the justices yelling at each other about when, and whether, it’s OK for the government to kill people. This term, the justices will debate race, voting, unions, fetuses, and murderers. Forget the GOP presidential debates. 1 First St. is where the real fun happens.

Mods, if I've pasted too much (it was a 2 page article) please cut as deemed necessary.