So long, summer recess. Today’s “long conference” – the subject of this morning’s Closer Look – marks the unofficial start of the 2026-27 term. (The official start is the first day of oral arguments on Oct. 5.)
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At the Court
On Friday, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to use a modified version of the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database to identify noncitizens on state voter rolls. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. For more on the decision, see the On Site section below.
Also on Friday, the Supreme Court, for the third time, declined to allow Missouri to use a congressional map expected to aid Republicans in November’s elections. There were no public dissents. Learn more about the decision in the On Site section.
On Thursday, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene in a battle over third-country removals – that is, the removal of noncitizens to countries not identified in their removal orders. A response to that request is due today by 4 p.m. EDT.
As noted above, the justices will meet today at the “long conference,” where they will consider petitions for review that built up during the court’s summer recess.
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