The Supreme Court began its October Term 2026 on Oct. 5, hearing argument in two cases and releasing an order list disposing of petitions that accumulated over the summer recess. The court’s October hearing list shows the first argument session running through Oct. 14.
The first case argued, Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, asks whether a lawsuit filed in Colorado state court seeking to hold energy companies liable for their alleged role in climate change may proceed, or whether federal law bars such claims. Justice Samuel Alito is not participating in the case, according to SCOTUSblog. The second case, Johnson v. United States Congress, asks whether a federal district court may hear a constitutional challenge to a law that limits disability benefits for certain incarcerated veterans.
The court’s Oct. 5 order list included denials of review in petitions considered at the justices’ late-September conference, as well as several orders granting review, vacating lower-court judgments and remanding for reconsideration. Among them, the court sent Garcia v. Hobbs and Trevino v. Hobbs back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for further consideration in light of its decision in Louisiana v. Callais, and remanded Mullin v. National TPS Alliance to the same court.
On Oct. 1, the court granted review in three additional cases, SCOTUSblog reported: a challenge to the administration’s policy of detaining noncitizens apprehended inside the United States without bond hearings, a dispute over enforcement of zoning ordinances against religious institutions, and a case concerning a federal law protecting former spouses of service members. Those cases are expected to be argued in early 2027. The court has also scheduled a Dec. 9 argument on removals of noncitizens to third countries.
Sources: Supreme Court order list, Oct. 5, 2026; October 2026 hearing list; SCOTUSblog.