The start of the Supreme Court's new term is quickly approaching, with cases involving climate change, President Trump's immigration policies and the Second Amendment among the most high-profile disputes the justices will hear in the coming months.
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justices → approach → months
But waiting in the wings at the Supreme Court are several legal battles involving Mr. Trump's second-term agenda, which will be discussed by the justices in forthcoming closed-door conferences and, if taken up by the court, decided by the summer of 2027.
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which → wait → 2027
The Supreme Court kicks off its term Monday with arguments involving a lawsuit filed in state court by the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, that seeks to hold energy companies accountable for the effects of global climate change.
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companies → kick → change
Here are the big cases that the Supreme Court is poised to decide so far in its upcoming term, which begins Oct. 5:
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which → poise → term
Climate change: Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County
On the first day of the new term, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a dispute between Boulder and two energy companies, Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil.
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Court → hear → Boulder
The question before the Supreme Court is a technical one: Whether federal law prevents Boulder County from suing energy companies in state court and claiming that the sale and allegedly deceptive marketing of fossil fuels violates state law.
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sale → prevent → law
The outcome of the case could have significant ramifications for dozens of similar lawsuits brought by states and localities that seek to hold fossil-fuel producers accountable for the effects of climate change.
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producers → have → change
A decision in favor of the energy companies would block Boulder's lawsuit, which is still in its early stages and seeks money damages.
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which → block → damages
Lawyers for Exxon and Suncor warn that if the Supreme Court allows these suits to move forward and they are ultimately successful, they would effectively impose a carbon tax on fossil-fuel producers and "bankrupt" the industry.
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they → warn → industry
In filings with the Supreme Court, they called climate change "one of the most complex public-policy challenges of our time," resulting from the buildup of greenhouse gases that are emitted by every state and every country.
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that → call → state
Those emissions, Suncor and Exxon lawyers said, "cannot be unmixed and traced to their individual sources."
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lawyers → say → sources
The case landed at the Supreme Court on appeal from the Colorado Supreme Court, which allowed Boulder's lawsuit to proceed.
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lawsuit → land → Court
The high court will also consider whether it has jurisdiction to review that decision.
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it → consider → decision
The energy companies warned that if that ruling is upheld and adopted on a nationwide scale, it would give the green light to all 50 states and their municipalities "to ask local courts to establish countless, conflicting climate policies for the Nation."
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it → warn → Nation
Lawyers for Boulder County argued that the Constitution allows states to address the harms that arise within their own borders.
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that → argue → borders
Whether those harms should be better addressed at the federal level is a decision that rests with Congress, they said.
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they → address → Congress
The county officials said the energy companies rushed to the Supreme Court and instead should wait until the state court has issued its final decision in the case before seeking review.
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court → say → review
"That climate change is a global problem does not disempower states from redressing its local harms either," they wrote.
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they → disempower → harms
"This litigation is not an attempt to solve climate change; it merely asks that petitioners bear their fair share of local costs incurred in part because of their tortious conduct."
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petitioners → solve → conduct
Justice Samuel Alito
in the case, according to a letter sent to lawyers for the parties Monday.
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Alito → accord → parties
The letter did not include a reason for his recusal.
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letter → include → recusal
In his financial disclosure for 2025, Alito reported owning stocks in two energy companies, ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66, but did not list individual holdings in Exxon or Suncor.
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Alito → report → Exxon
On Nov. 3, the justices will convene for arguments in a case involving a Catholic preschool in Colorado that
from the state's universal preschool program.
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justices → convene → program
The dispute is the latest in which the Supreme Court will consider participation by religious entities in state-funded programs.
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Court → consider → programs
Colorado's program provides state funding for families to send their 4-year-olds to the preschool of their choosing.
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families → provide → choosing
The program allows all children in the state to receive up to 15 hours of free preschool each week before they enter kindergarten.
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they → allow → kindergarten
Families can send their children to public or private preschools, or to faith-based or in-home providers.
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Families → send → providers
The law creating the program includes a nondiscrimination provision, which requires all schools to ensure children have the equal opportunity to attend regardless of their or their parents' religious affiliation, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing or income level.
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children → create → housing
In 2023, the Archdiocese of Denver, which oversees more than 30 Catholic preschools, requested an exemption from the universal preschool program's nondiscrimination rule so it could admit only participating families who adhere to the Catholic Church's teachings, including on gender identity and sexual orientation.
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who → oversee → identity
But the Colorado Department of Early Childhood declined to provide the accommodation.
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Department → decline → accommodation
In response, the Archdiocese, two parishes and a family with children who attend parish schools sued and argued they were entitled to an exemption under the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause.
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they → attend → Clause
The plaintiffs said because the universal preschool program created exemptions to the nondiscrimination requirement, it was not neutral and generally applicable.
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it → say → requirement
The Supreme Court said in a 1990 decision called Employment Division v. Smith that laws burdening the free exercise of religion generally do not violate the First Amendment as long as they're neutral and generally applicable.
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they → say → Amendment
A federal district court sided with the state in June 2024, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld that decision, finding that the program's nondiscrimination rule "exists in harmony with the First Amendment" and doesn't violate the plaintiffs' free exercise rights.
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rule → side → rights
Gun rights: Viramontes v. Cook County and Grant v. Higgins
This latest Second Amendment dispute to arise following the Supreme Court's landmark 2022 decision expanding gun rights involves
and similar semiautomatic weapons.
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dispute → arise → weapons
The two cases, which will be argued Dec. 2, involve a Connecticut law and an ordinance in Cook County, Illinois.
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which → argue → County
Cook County's prohibition was put in place nearly 20 years ago, while Connecticut tightened its rules for semiautomatic firearms after the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
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Connecticut → put → School
More than 10 states and the District of Columbia prohibit AR-15-style semiautomatic weapons.
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states → prohibit → weapons
In both of the cases from Illinois and Connecticut, lower courts upheld the bans.
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courts → uphold → bans
The appeals courts each applied the new standard for determining the constitutionality of gun restrictions that the Supreme Court laid out in 2022, which requires the government to show that a law is consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation.
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law → apply → regulation
…and 62 more, not listed.
The Aporia
