The US Supreme Court building seen in Washington, DC, on September 28, 2023. | Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The US Supreme Court convened for a new term on October 2 and will begin hearing a growing list of cases that could transform the scope of the federal government, voting rights, and the rights to free speech and public safety.
Justices will consider the constitutionality of an entire federal agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Florida and Texas laws that impose government-mandated editorial policies on social media sites; and whether people subject to domestic violence restraining orders have a right to own a gun.
The Supreme Court is also likely to take up lower-court decisions about whether to ban a drug used in more than half of all abortions in the United States and whether political activists have a First Amendment right to organize a protest. And it has already announced that it will hear a major gerrymandering suit, with more cases potentially coming that could decide who prevails in future elections.
We’ll track the biggest cases and explain what’s at stake here. Follow along.