The Supreme Court begins its new term Monday, with renewed public and political concern over their recent rulings, the justices' personal safety and even their future makeup.Chief Justice John Roberts, surrounded by his eight colleagues, will call the court into public session precisely at 10 a.m.EDT with a pair of scheduled oral arguments.
Their first case from the bench will be a major one: a federal-state environmental dispute over holding oil and gas companies liable for climate change harms.Other high-profile appeals are already on the argument docket:NEWSOM PROMISES NEW LEGAL FIGHT AFTER TRUMP GETS SUPREME COURT VICTORY ON MAIL-IN VOTINGThe Supreme Court opens its new term Monday with major cases involving executive power, gun rights, religious liberty and voting rules.(Leah Millis-Pool/Getty Images)But the Supreme Court under Roberts' leadership continues to struggle against negative public attitudes over their reputation as a non-political actor upholding the law and Constitution."The chief justice is in a tough position in that he is an institutionalist and a traditionalist at a time in our nation's history where a lot of institutions and traditions have come under pressure like they haven't in a long time," said Thomas Dupree, a leading appellate attorney and former top Justice Department official.
"And so in many ways, he is trying to kind of buck a lot of the tide right now by really insisting and hewing to these traditions of the institutions that have governed Washington for a long time."The new term will feature more constitutional disputes over the power of the executive, with current or anticipated fights over immigration, federal bureaucracy reforms and possibly the White House ballroom and Kennedy Center construction projects.And if recent history is any predictor, the justices are likely to offer a mixed, nuanced series of rulings both for and against President Donald Trump's ambitious agenda.The last term saw him and his allies lose over sweep...