On Monday, October 6, 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 new year of work since 1916. The first case of the new Term, Villarreal v. Texas, concerns a criminal defendant's right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment; a live-stream of oral argument audio will be provided on the Court's website. Other petitions already granted for the Term address a number of hot-button topics, such as state prohibitions on transgender athletes on girls' sports teams; LGBTQ "conversion therapy" bans; the death penalty for inmates with intellectual disabilities; campaign finance spending limits; and potential liability by internet service providers for piracy of digital music by users.
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 2025 page, organized by argument date. Oyez provides a similar overview of OT2025 cases, and will link to oral argument audio and opinions when they become available for each case. 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. (The first Preview issue of the new Term features Villareal and other cases scheduled for the October sitting.)
This Term will also some less typical activity. A case about Louisiana's electoral maps that was fully briefed and argued last Term was ultimately postponed for reargument in the new Term. Birthright citizenship is also likely to be revisited this Term following the Trump administration’s request for expedited appeal of rulings against an executive order. The Court's "emergency docket" – dubbed the "shadow docket" by some for its often impactful, expedited orders after minimal briefing and no oral argument – also continues to balloon. Justice Brett Kavanaugh recently suggested rebranding the collection of applications to the "interim docket"; SCOTUSblog has adopted the new term on its home page, although the link to these applications is still labeled "Emergency Docket." Pending applications include the President's ability to fire members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, California school vaccination requirements, and Temporary Protected Status designations for Venezuelans.
Keep up with the latest developments at One First Street throughout the year by following SCOTUSblog, Oyez, and the ABA Preview. For more news of the Court, United States Law Week (online in Bloomberg Law) provides a weekly Supreme Court Today roundup on Mondays (view all). The general news publications available to the Duke Law community listed on Legal Databases & Links, such as The New York Times and the Washington Post, will also regularly report on the latest news at the Court.
For more information on the upcoming Term and practices of the U.S. Supreme Court, check out the resources linked in the library's research guide or Ask a Librarian.