The Goodson Blogson

On Monday, October 5, 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, Suncor Energy (USA) Inc. v. Commissioners of Boulder County , involves liability for injuries caused by climate change. A livestream of oral argument audio will be provided on the Court's website. (One voice you won't hear on the audio during  Suncor is Justice Samuel Alito; the clerk of the Court announced the justice’s decision to recuse in a one-sentence announcement on Monday.) Other petitions already granted for this Term address a number of hot-button topics, such as a state citizenship requirements for voter registration in Arizona ; sex discrimination suits against federally funded educational institutions ; Second Amendment cases concerning ownership of semiautomatic rifles ; and state laws on...