First Monday in October

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will open its annual October Term, with its first oral argument scheduled for 10 am. The "First Monday in October" has marked the start of the Supreme Court's year since 1916. The Court recently confirmed plans to continue live-streaming oral arguments on its website; the first case of the new Term, Pulsifer v. United States, concerns the "safety valve" provision in federal criminal sentencing laws.

To learn more about individual cases on the Court's docket this year, SCOTUSblog offers quick access to case information and filings on its October Term 2023 page, organized by argument date. The ABA also publishes a regular Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases (available in HeinOnline; Duke NetID required) that provides an overview as well as legal analysis of each featured case. (Pulsifer is featured in the latest Preview issue, along with other cases from the October sitting.)

A looming federal government shutdown puts the October operations of many federal agencies and offices in jeopardy. Reuters has reported that the lower federal courts likely can remain operational for two weeks should Congress fail to agree on either the annual appropriations or a short-term deal to avert shutdown. However, the Supreme Court expects to continue operations beyond that time if a shutdown continues beyond that point, with an official spokesperson adding that the Court "will rely on permanent funds not subject to annual approval, as it has in the past, to maintain operations through the duration of short-term lapses of annual appropriations."

For more information on the history and practices of the U.S. Supreme Court, check out the resources linked in the library's research guide or Ask a Librarian. Visitors to the Goodson Law Library should also plan to stop by the service desk during the month of October to view a display of items in the collection related to the Supreme Court in history, pop culture and society, featuring a mix of nonfiction and fiction titles related to the highest Court in the land.