The justices hear seven cases over nine days, starting with a federal prisoner's challenge over early-release credits and, on Tuesday, Catholic preschools' challenge to Colorado's universal preschool rules.
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The Supreme Court began its November argument session on Monday, November 2, and will hear seven cases through November 10, according to the court's argument calendar.
Monday's cases were Maxwell v. Dinis, on whether a federal prisoner can use the habeas statute to challenge the Bureau of Prisons' refusal to speed his transfer to a halfway house or home confinement under First Step Act time credits, and Younge v. Fulton Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office, a pregnancy discrimination case about whether a defendant may raise a defense late in a lawsuit that it didn't plead earlier.
On Tuesday the court hears St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, in which Catholic preschools challenge their exclusion from Colorado's universal preschool program. The state requires participating providers to accept families regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity; the preschools say their religious beliefs prevent them from doing so and that the exclusion violates the First Amendment. Wednesday's case is Guerrero v. Johnson, a habeas case. Arguments continue November 9 and 10, and decisions in this term's cases typically come by the end of June. The court posts argument audio and same-day transcripts on its website.
The justices are weighing whether federal law blocks state-law claims seeking damages from energy companies for climate change. The term ahead includes assault-weapons bans, voter ID and religious schools.
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The Supreme Court began its 2026-27 term on Monday, October 5, with arguments in Suncor Energy v. Commissioners of Boulder County, in which Boulder County and the city of Boulder, Colorado, are suing Suncor and ExxonMobil under state law over the local costs of climate change, SCOTUSblog and NPR report. The question is whether federal law bars state-law claims seeking relief for injuries said to be caused by worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions, and whether the court can hear the case at this stage.
Boulder argues the companies knew their products would cause harm and misled the public for decades, increasing the risks of wildfire, flooding and extreme heat. The companies argue that emissions from around the world are a matter for federal law and that the many similar suits in state courts should be stopped. The ruling, expected by the end of June, could affect similar suits by other states and cities.
Also on Monday, the court heard a case on whether federal district courts can hear constitutional challenges to a law limiting disability benefits for some incarcerated veterans. Over the October session, which runs through October 14, the justices hear seven cases, including Genalo v. Black, on whether a noncitizen detained for a long time has a constitutional right to a bond hearing. Later this fall the court will hear challenges to state bans on assault rifles, a voter proof-of-citizenship dispute from Arizona and religious-liberty cases.
The ruling follows the Supreme Court's decision not to hear the president's appeal of the 2023 verdict.
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A federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday, July 8, that writer E. Jean Carroll can collect the damages a jury awarded her against President Trump, after the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal of the 2023 verdict that found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation, The Wall Street Journal reports. The jury had awarded her $5 million; the money, about $5.8 million with interest, had been held in escrow during the appeal, according to Democracy Now.