WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court took the bench again on Monday, ready to hear cases on ghost guns, a death sentence and transgender rights.
Seated in front of the courtroom’s sweeping marble columns, Chief Justice John Roberts announced the formal end of the court’s previous term, when a series of blockbuster cases included an opinion granting broad immunity to former President Donald Trump.
He then gaveled in the start of the court’s new term. The docket isn’t as packed, but the conservative-majority court could yet be asked to intervene in election disputes after the ballots are cast in November.
The justices then heard their first case dealing with pandemic-era unemployment claims filed in Alabama.
The term’s beginning comes after a relatively busy summer hiatus for the court. The orders they issued on emergency appeals included a refusal to restore President Joe Biden’s student loan plan and a partial approval of an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote.
The new term opens against the backdrop of low public trust in the Supreme Court, and continued debate about whether its newly adopted code of ethics should have an enforcement mechanism.
Here’s a look at some of the cases coming up:
Ghost gun regulations
The justices will hear a case Tuesday on regulations for ghost guns, privately made weapons that are hard for police to track because they don’t have serial numbers.
The number of the firearms found at crime scenes has soared in recent years, from fewer than 4,000 in 2018 to nearly 20,000 recovered by law enforcement in 2021, according to Justice Department data.
The numbers have been declining in multiple cities since the Biden administration began requiring background checks and age verification for ghost gun kits that can be bought online.
But manufacturers and gun rights groups argue that the administration overstepped and the rule should be overturned.
Doubts about a death sentence
In the decades since Richard Glossip was sentenced to die over a 1997 murder-for-hire scheme, the case has become a rare one where prosecutors are conceding mistakes.
Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general has joined with Glossip in seeking to overturn his murder conviction and death sentence.
