Supreme Court's new term starts Monday: the first cases to know

By tradition, the Supreme Court starts its new term on the first Monday in October, which this year is Oct. 5. Here is what the justices will hear on the first day and what was added to the calendar this week.

The first argument is Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County. The question is whether a Colorado lawsuit that seeks to hold energy companies responsible for local effects of climate change can go forward in state court, or whether federal law blocks claims like it. SCOTUSblog reports that Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself from this case, so eight justices will decide it.

The second Monday case is Johnson v. United States Congress. It asks whether federal district courts can review constitutional challenges to a law that limits disability benefits for certain incarcerated veterans.

On Thursday, the court also agreed to hear three more cases later in the term, according to SCOTUSblog. They involve a policy of detaining noncitizens arrested inside the U.S. without bond hearings, how zoning rules apply to religious institutions, and federal protections for former spouses of service members.

Decisions in argued cases usually arrive over the following months, with many of the biggest ones coming in late spring and early summer.

If you want to follow along, the court posts argument audio on supremecourt.gov, and the October argument calendar lists every case by date.