As the United States enters the Thanksgiving break, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) readies itself for a week filled with significant legal deliberations commencing Monday, December 1. This brief pause comes before the court takes on a variety of cases that draw attention from various spheres of the legal community.
The court remains poised to potentially deliver decisions on several notable matters within its interim docket, ranging from former President Donald Trump’s controversial efforts regarding the deployment of the National Guard in Illinois to the contentious redistricting map in Texas. The Supreme Court is also considering a case centered around the Trump administration’s effort to remove the top U.S. copyright official.
Legal professionals will watch closely next week as the justices hear arguments in two significant cases. In Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment, the court will deliberate whether a service provider is liable for copyright infringement when their customers persistently violate copyright laws, a case that John Mann discusses in his preview. Simultaneously, Urias-Orellana v. Bondi invites the court to define the federal judiciary’s role in reviewing asylum cases – a matter thoroughly reviewed by Kelsey Dallas in her case preview.
As discussions around judicial security surge, reports show that recent funding increases only bolster security for the Supreme Court, leaving lower court judges more vulnerable. With escalating threats, the conversation around judicial safety reaches new heights of urgency, echoing the sentiments of retired judge Liam O’Grady.
In a strand of judicial discourse, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson continues to attract attention with her notably sharper dissents compared to her liberal peers on the bench, a point elaborated by Daniel Harawa in his column. This contrasts an evolving dynamic within the court where Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor have maintained a different tone, particularly relevant amid discussions of appointive tensions within the federal judiciary as reported by the DOJ’s current stances with regard to contested attorney appointments.
Finally, as 2025 progresses, the court is slated to hear Wolford v. Lopez in January, challenging the constraints on gun rights in Hawaii, a case with substantial implications for Second Amendment jurisprudence.
For further details on each of these topics, see the full SCOTUSblog article.