Key Highlights

  • The court heard arguments on October 5 on whether local governments can sue oil companies over climate harms.
  • Arguments come November 3 on a Catholic exemption, December 2 on rifle bans and December 8 on Arizona voting.
  • The court let the third-country deportation policy continue for now on September 29, with arguments in December.
  • Rulings in the cases are expected by the end of June, when the nine-month term ends.

Oil Companies and Climate Liability

The US Supreme Court is hearing a series of important cases during its nine-month term, which runs to about the end of June. The issues include President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, asylum, assault-style rifle bans, race, climate liability, Republican-backed voting restrictions, LGBT rights and more.

On October 5, the justices wrestled with whether to let local governments try to hold oil companies liable for harms caused by climate change. ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) and Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) are trying to thwart a lawsuit by officials in Boulder, Colorado, after the state’s top court allowed the suit to proceed. The suit accuses the companies of violating state law and seeks unspecified monetary damages. The Trump administration backs the companies.

The justices voiced concerns about unduly limiting the authority of states to pursue climate-related litigation, as well as the chaos that follows if local governments across the country are permitted to sue. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

Immigration and Asylum

The court decides the legality of Trump’s policy that subjects millions of immigrants in the country illegally to mandatory detention during deportation proceedings. The administration abandoned the longstanding interpretation of federal law that allowed immigrants already living in the United States to be released on bond while their cases play out. The case involves a Brazilian national, and the date for arguments has not been announced.

In December, the justices hear arguments over the administration’s policy of deporting migrants to nations other than their own without offering them the chance to show the harms they face. On September 29, the court let the policy continue for now, putting on hold a federal judge’s ruling that such removals are unlawful. Human rights groups say more than 25,000 migrants have been deported to 29 countries under the policy.

A third case concerns the administration’s bid to deny asylum to a Nigerian man forced to prepare meals for an apparent separatist group that US officials consider a terrorist organization. The case tests how far officials can define terrorist activity under immigration law. A lower court ruled that cooking did not amount to material support for terrorism.

Guns, Voting and Race

On December 2, the justices hear a challenge to state prohibitions on assault-style rifles, giving them another chance to expand gun rights. Lower courts upheld bans in Cook County, Illinois, and Connecticut on powerful semiautomatic rifles such as AR-15s, rejecting Second Amendment arguments.

On December 8, the court hears a Republican-led bid to revive Arizona voter restrictions that stiffen proof-of-citizenship requirements for registrants and purge voter rolls of alleged non-citizens. A lower court halted the provisions as violating a federal voter registration law. Trump’s administration backs key elements of the appeal. Critics say the measure unfairly targets Latino, Native American and student voters.

The justices also consider whether to revive a lawsuit against a Maryland county’s lottery admissions policy for four elite public middle schools, which some parents say discriminates against Asian American applicants.

Religion and Executive Power

On November 3, the court hears a bid by the Archdiocese of Denver and other Catholic entities to be exempted from a Colorado preschool funding program’s nondiscrimination requirement. Plaintiffs object to the rule that participating schools give all children equal opportunity to enroll regardless of characteristics including sexual orientation or gender identity. A lower court found the program did not violate their First Amendment rights.

The justices also decide whether the administration can avoid handing over records to a watchdog group about the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative led last year by the president’s former adviser Elon Musk. A judge found that DOGE is a government agency covered by the Freedom of Information Act.

Business and Legacy Disputes

The court decides the legality of a federal ban on home distilling of alcoholic spirits enacted in 1868 to crack down on liquor tax evasion. The administration defends the law, while challengers argue it exceeds congressional authority. More than a dozen Republican-led states back the challenge.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) asks the justices to spare it from a contempt finding in its fight with Fortnite maker Epic Games, after a federal judge in Oakland found it in violation of an order requiring sweeping App Store changes in the antitrust litigation.

The court also hears a bid by canned-coffee maker Rise Brewing to hold PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) liable for alleged trademark infringement over its Mtn Dew Rise energy drink.