The Supreme Court of the United States opened its 2026-27 term on Monday, October 5, 2026, hearing oral arguments in two cases involving climate change litigation and veterans' disability benefits. On the same day, the court issued a lengthy order list, denying review in hundreds of cases considered during the justices' September 28 conference. These denials included disputes over student speech, Second Amendment rights for convicted felons, and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The Monday arguments began with Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, which addresses whether energy companies can be held liable in Colorado state court for climate change impacts or if federal law precludes such claims. The second case, Johnson v. United States Congress, examines whether federal district courts have the jurisdiction to review constitutional challenges to laws that limit disability benefits for specific incarcerated veterans. On Tuesday, October 6, the court turned to Anderson v. Intel Corporation Investment Policy Committee to determine how to address claims of imprudent retirement fund investments under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Data from the term's opening arguments indicate that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson spoke the most total words, followed by Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. Analysis shows the justices frequently focused on procedural thresholds—such as standing and remedies—before addressing the merits of the cases. For example, in an Illinois dispute and a case titled Chiles, questioning centered on whether challengers had the legal standing to sue and what specific relief a court could effectively order.
The scale of these decisions is reflected in the thousands of petitions the court receives annually, of which it typically grants review to only about 80. The hundreds of cases denied review on October 5, 2026, mean that lower court rulings on student speech and firearm rights for felons will remain in place for those specific jurisdictions. For the cases currently being argued, the justices generally release their final decisions by the end of June, when the court's summer recess begins.
In the immediate future, the court is scheduled to hear argument on Wednesday, October 7, in Department of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guåhan, a case concerning environmental permits for munitions disposal in Guam. Additionally, the court has set a deadline of 4 p.m. EDT on Thursday, October 8, for challengers to respond to a Trump administration request regarding healthcare and accommodations for transgender inmates in federal prisons. Decisions on these and other argued cases are expected to be handed down periodically throughout the term.