The Supreme Court’s next term will begin in October with major cases about costly climate change lawsuits and immigration.
The high court announced the cases it will hear in the first month of its upcoming term, as the justices remain off the bench for their annual summer break. The Supreme Court will return Oct. 5, when it hears arguments in Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County and Johnson v. United States Congress, a case about a veterans’ benefits dispute.
The Suncor Energy case will see the justices decide whether a lawsuit brought by Boulder County, Colorado, seeking to hold oil companies accountable for their alleged role in global climate change, may move forward. The case is expected to have sweeping ramifications for similar lawsuits that climate activists and Democratic-led jurisdictions have attempted to bring against oil companies, either allowing them to proceed or shutting them down as barred by federal law.
The Supreme Court’s opening week of arguments will continue with Anderson v. Intel Corp. Investment Policy Comm., a case involving a person suing over a company’s retirement plan fund’s financial underperformance, on Oct. 6, and Dept. of Air Force v. Guahan, a case involving an environmental challenge to the Air Force’s disposal of unexploded artillery at a base in Guam, on Oct. 7.
The high court’s second week of arguments will begin on Oct. 13, with arguments in Beaird v. United States, a case about courts’ deference regarding sentencing guidelines, and Genalo v. Black, a key immigration case.
With Genalo v. Black, the justices will look at whether federal immigration officials may detain a criminal immigrant, who is awaiting the conclusion of removal proceedings, indefinitely, or whether he or she should be given a bond hearing if the detention becomes “unreasonably prolonged.” The case is expected to be the first of several immigration cases next term, with legal challenges to the Trump administration’s mandatory detention policy for illegal immigrants appearing poised for Supreme Court review in the coming months.
The final October oral arguments will be on Oct. 14, when it hears the case Salazar v. Paramount Global, which deals with how a 1988 law intended to protect consumers’ video store rental history from being disclosed applies to online services.
The court previously announced the upcoming term will have seven two-week oral argument sessions between October and April, with the scheduled cases for the session from November and beyond to be announced at a later date.
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The upcoming term is set to include more key cases, including disputes about the constitutionality of state “assault weapons” bans and Colorado barring Catholic preschools from its universal preschool program. The Supreme Court has already announced 25 cases it will hear in its upcoming term, but will likely add dozens more in the coming months.
All of the high court’s decisions in the cases argued next term are expected to be delivered by the end of June.