Supreme Court Opens Term With Climate Gun and Immigration Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court began its 2026-27 term on Monday, October 5, 2026. The docket includes Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, where Suncor and ExxonMobil face climate-damage lawsuits from Boulder officials and have Trump administration backing. Illinois and Connecticut challenges to state bans on semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity magazines are set for December. The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates more than 30 million modern sporting rifles have entered circulation since 1990. Jonathan Fahey told The National News Desk the justices are being asked whether the Second Amendment protects ownership of AR-15s and high-capacity magazines, citing Heller and Bruen, and said he expects a 6-3 or 5-4 ruling for gun owners. Chuck Grassley's committee disclosed that Jack Smith's team obtained at least 4,782 donor checks across all 50 states in Arctic Frost, some as small as $1; Fahey said it really did not seem Smith had any guardrails on his investigation. Also scheduled are Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota on Arizona citizenship-proof voter registration in December, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy on a Colorado Catholic preschool's program exclusion in November, and immigration cases on third-country deportations and detention without automatic bail.