Here Are the Big Cases SCOTUS Will Hear This Term

The Supreme Court has begun a momentous new term, back in the courtroom after a nearly 19-month absence because of the coronavirus pandemic. Eight of the nine justices took the bench at 10am Monday for the first arguments of the new term. Justice Brett Kavanaugh is participating remotely from his home after testing positive for COVID-19 late last week. Mississippi and Tennessee's dispute over an underground aquifer is among today's cases, reports the AP, with the court on Monday affirming a lower court ruling that said District of Columbia residents aren't entitled to voting representation in the House of Representatives. The AP separately looks at the notable cases that will top this term:

• Abortion. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court's major decisions over the last half-century that guarantee a woman's right to an abortion nationwide. Lower courts blocked Mississippi's ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but a more conservative Supreme Court has agreed to review those rulings. Arguments are Dec. 1.
• Guns. New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. v. Bruen is a case that could expand gun rights in the US and involves the right to carry a firearm in public. The case involves New York's restrictive gun-permit law. New York state is among six states that limit who has the right to carry a weapon in public. Arguments are Nov. 3.

• State secrets. United States v. Zubaydah and FBI v. Fazaga are two cases that involve what the government claims are "state secrets." The first case the court will hear involves a Guantanamo Bay detainee who a lower court said was tortured in CIA custody. He's seeking information from two former CIA contractors. Arguments are Oct. 6. The other state secrets case involves a group of Muslim residents of California who allege the FBI targeted them for surveillance because of their religion. Arguments are Nov. 8.
• Boston Marathon bombing. United States v. Tsarnaev is the Biden administration's effort to have the death sentence reinstated for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Arguments are Oct. 13.
• Campaign finance. Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate is a challenge by Sen. Ted Cruz to rules about limits on repaying a candidate for federal office who loans his or her campaign money. Cruz made a loan to his campaign above the limit of $250,000 expressly to challenge the law. He won in a lower court. Arguments haven't been scheduled.

(More US Supreme Court stories.)