The Supreme Court Building is closed today for Columbus Day. In recognition of that, this is an abridged edition of SCOTUStoday.
On Sept. 28, Amy, along with attorney Masha Hansford and reporter Greg Stohr, previewed the 2026-27 term at a National Constitution Center event. A recording of their discussion is now available online and on the We the People podcast feed.
Pacific Legal Foundation has also released a recording of its term preview event, which included SCOTUSblog’s Zach Shemtob. Watch the recording here.
At the Court
On Saturday, lawyers for a group of Democratic candidates urged the Supreme Court to deny requests from the Federal Communications Commission and two Republican groups to block a ruling by a federal appeals court that would require the FCC to rule quickly on a challenge to its “public notice” that would extend favorable advertising rates to political parties and joint fundraising committees. For more on the dispute, see the On Site section below.
On Friday, President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to allow his dismissed lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and several others over statements they made about “Russian collusion” to proceed. Find Amy’s coverage of the petition for review in the On Site section.
Also on Friday, Trump announced the creation of a three-person committee to investigate allegations of mortgage fraud against Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. On June 29, by a vote of 5-4, the Supreme Court blocked Trump’s initial effort to fire Cook over these allegations. Learn more about the announcement in the On Site section.
Additionally, the justices met on Friday to discuss cases and vote on petitions for review. Orders from that conference are expected tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
Tomorrow, the justices will hear oral argument in Beaird v. United States, on the degree of deference that courts owe to the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s commentary on applying federal sentencing guidelines.
On Wednesday, the justices will hear argument in Salazar v. Paramount Global, on whether and how the Video Privacy Protection Act, which was enacted after the Washington City Paper reported on a Supreme Court nominee’s video rental history, applies in the internet era.
On Sept. 28, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for the Federal Bureau of Prisons to implement its new policy on healthcare and accommodations for transgender inmates, which would prevent such inmates from obtaining gender-transition surgeries, hormone therapy, and “social accommodations.” The dispute is now fully briefed, and the court’s decision could come at any time.