Election law changes? Our legislation tracker’s got you. Check it out!

Supreme Court cases, October term 2025-2026

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search


SCOTUS
Seal of SCOTUS.png
Cases by term
Judgeships
Posts: 9
Judges: 9
Judges
Chief: John Roberts
Active: Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas


The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the country and leads the judicial branch of the federal government. It is often referred to by the acronym SCOTUS.[1]

The Supreme Court began hearing cases for the term on October 6, 2025. The court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions by mid-June.[2]

See the sections below for additional information on the October 2025 Term of the Supreme Court of the United States.

  1. Cases by circuit: This section lists the cases being heard by court of origination (e.g., federal appellate courts, federal district courts, state courts, etc.).
  2. Cases by sitting: This section lists the cases being heard by date of oral argument.
  3. Cases by date of opinion: This section lists the cases by the date the court released an opinion.
  4. Term data: This section provides information on the cases SCOTUS will decide, including case names, decisions, vote totals, opinion authors, and courts of origination. It also includes information on SCOTUS case reversal rates.
  5. Case history: This section provides information on previous SCOTUS terms.


As of October 3, 2025, the court has agreed to hear 36 cases during its 2025-2026 term.[3] The court has scheduled 19 cases for argument. One case was dismissed.

As of June 6, 2025, the court has issued no opinions for this term. Since 2007, SCOTUS has released opinions in 1,250 cases. Of those, it reversed a lower court decision 891 times (71 percent) while affirming a lower court decision 347 times (28 percent).

Cases by circuit

Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution establishes the court's jurisdiction. The court has original jurisdiction—when it is the first and only to hear a case—and appellate jurisdiction—when it reviews the decisions of lower courts.[4]

Parties petition SCOTUS to hear a case if they are not satisfied with a lower court's decision. The parties petition the court to grant a writ of certiorari. A writ of certiorari is an "order issued by the U.S. Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case it will hear on appeal."[4][5]

Circuits

1st Circuit

2nd Circuit

3rd Circuit

4th Circuit

5th Circuit

6th Circuit

7th Circuit

8th Circuit

9th Circuit

10th Circuit

11th Circuit

D.C. Circuit

Federal Circuit

  • No cases originating from this circuit have yet been announced.

Armed Forces

  • No cases originating from this circuit have yet been announced.

State and district courts

Original jurisdiction

  • No cases originating from this circuit have yet been announced.

Where are the cases coming from?

List of cases by court of origination - 2025-2026 term
Court Number of cases
United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit 1
United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit 3
United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit 3
United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit 4
United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit 5
United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit 4
United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit 1
United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit 1
United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit 3
United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit 2
United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit 2
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit 2
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 0
United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces 0
State and district courts 5
Original jurisdiction 0
Total 36
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, "Supreme Court of the United States granted & noted list," accessed February 14, 2025

Geographic boundaries

Select a region to learn more about its court of appeals.

United States Court of Appeals for the 1st CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 2nd CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 3rd CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 4th CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 6th CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 7th CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eighth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 10th CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 1st CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the 3rd CircuitUS Court of Appeals and District Court map.jpg

Cases by sitting

SCOTUS' term is divided into sittings, when the justices hear cases.[6]


Cases not yet set for argument


Cases by date of opinion

Ballotpedia will update this section once SCOTUS issues opinions for the 2025-2026 term.


Term data

2025-2026 term data

The 2025-2026 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began on October 6, 2025. Information will be added here as it becomes available.

2025-2026 SCOTUS term data
Case Court of origination Argument date Date decided Decision Vote Opinion author
Bowe v. United States United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit October 14, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Barrett v. United States United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit October 7, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Chiles v. Salazar United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit October 7, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Berk v. Choy United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit October 6, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Ellingburg v. United States United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit October 14, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Villarreal v. Texas Texas Court of Criminal Appeals October 6, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
USPS, et al. v. Konan, Lebene United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit October 8, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. v. Palmquist United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit November 4, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Fernandez v. United States United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit November 12, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit October 8, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Case v. Montana Montana Supreme Court October 15, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
The GEO Group, Inc. v. Menocal United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit November 10, 2025 TBD TBD TBD
Hencely v. Fluor Corporation United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit November 3, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Hamm v. Smith (2025) United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit TBD[8] TBD TBD TBD TBD
Coney Island Auto Parts Unlimited, Inc. v. Burton United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit November 4, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Rutherford v. United States United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit November 12, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit November 10, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
M & K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd. United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Urias-Orellana v. Bondi United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Enbridge Energy, LP v. Nessel United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Rico v. United States United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit November 3, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation Supreme Court of Pennsylvania TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Olivier v. City of Brandon, Mississippi United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
West Virginia v. B.P.J. United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Little v. Hecox United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Louisiana v. Callais United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana October 15, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (consolidated with Trump v. V.O.S. Selections) United States District Court for the District of Columbia November 5, 2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD
Department of Education v. Career Colleges and Schools of Texas United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit N/A August 11, 2025 dismissed N/A N/A
Trump v. Slaughter United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Pung v. Isabella County, Michigan United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD
Wolford v. Lopez United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD


Precedent alteration

The Washington University in St. Louis Law School (WashU Law) maintains a database of Supreme Court cases. In its database, a case is considered to have formally altered existing Court precedent if at least one of the following applies to the case:[9]

  • The majority opinion of the Court explicitly references a previous case and overturns its precedent;
  • A dissent contains persuasive evidence that the opinion of the Court, despite not mentioning overturned precedent, has overruled a previous precedent set by the Court;
  • If the Court, in a later decision, references an earlier decision that the Court made, and states that said earlier decision was a case overturning precedent, that earlier case will be marked as altering precedent;
  • Or, the majority opinion mentions precedent and states that it "disapproved" of the decision, or that the precedent is "no longer good law."

The following table details for each term of The Roberts Court how many and which cases were found to formally alter precedent:[10]

SCOTUS precedent alteration during the Roberts Court
Court term # of cases altering precedent % of cases altering precedent List of cases altering precedent
2023-2024 1 of 62 1.6% Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo
2022-2023 1 of 62 1.6% Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard
2021-2022 3 of 69 4.3% Shinn v. Ramirez / Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization / Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
2020-2021 1 of 74 1.4% Edwards v. Vannoy
2019-2020 1 of 74 1.4% Ramos v. Louisiana
2018-2019 4 of 78 5.1% Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania / Herrera v. Wyoming / Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt / Rucho v. Common Cause
2017-2018 3 of 79 3.8% Trump v. Hawaii / South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. / Janus v. AFSCME
2016-2017 0 of 81 0.0% N/A
2015-2016 1 of 84 1.2% Hurst v. Florida
2014-2015 2 of 79 2.5% Johnson v. United States / Obergefell v. Hodges
2013-2014 0 of 75 0.0% N/A
2012-2013 1 of 79 1.3% Allen v. United States
2011-2012 0 of 80 0.0% N/A
2010-2011 1 of 86 1.2% Bond v. United States
2009-2010 2 of 94 2.1% McDonald v. Chicago / Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
2008-2009 2 of 83 2.4% Jesse Jay Montejo v. Louisiana / Cordell Pearson, et al. v. Afton Callahan
2007-2008 0 of 74 0.0% N/A
2006-2007 5 of 75 6.7% Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General v. Leroy Carhart, et al. / Bell Atlantic Corporation, et al. v. William Twombly, et al. / Keith Bowles v. Harry Russell, Warden / Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School Dist. No. 1 / Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc.
2005-2006 2 of 87 2.3% Illinois Tool Works Inc., et al. v. Independent Ink, Inc. / Central Virginia Community College, et al. v. Bernard Katz

Note that the WashU Law database does not state how many precedents were overturned with each decision. As such, a case listed as altering a precedent may have affected multiple precedents.

Additionally, if the Court only distinguished a precedent, it was not classified as a precedent-altering case. Distinguishing a precedent involves clarifying a previous precedent rather than changing it.[9]

SCOTUS case reversal rates

See also: SCOTUS case reversal rates (2007 - Present)

From 2007 to the most recently completed term, the Supreme Court of the United States released opinions in 1,250 cases, averaging 73.5 cases per year. During that period, the Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision 891 times (71.3 percent) and affirmed a lower court decision 347 times (27.8 percent). The vast majority of cases heard by the high court originate in a lower court, such as the 13 appellate circuit courts, state-level courts, and federal district courts. Between 2007 and 2023, the high court decided more cases originating from the Ninth Circuit (243) than from any other circuit.

For more historical term data, click here.

Active justices

See also: Supreme Court of the United States
JudgeBornHomeAppointed byActivePreceededLaw school
Alito.jpg
Associate justice 
Samuel Alito
April 1, 1950Trenton, N.J.W. Bush January 31, 2006 - PresentSandra Day O'ConnorYale Law School, 1975
Official roberts CJ.jpg
Chief justice 
John Roberts
January 27, 1955Buffalo, N.Y.W. Bush September 29, 2005 - PresentWilliam RehnquistHarvard Law, 1979
ClarenceThomas.jpg
Associate justice 
Clarence Thomas
June 23, 1948Savannah, Ga.H.W. Bush July 1, 1991 - PresentThurgood MarshallYale Law School, 1974
Elena Kagan.jpg
Associate justice 
Elena Kagan
April 28, 1960New York, N.Y.Obama August 7, 2010 - PresentJohn Paul StevensHarvard Law School, J.D., 1986
Sonia Sotomayor official.jpg
Associate justice 
Sonia Sotomayor
June 25, 1954New York, N.Y.Obama August 6, 2009 - PresentDavid SouterYale Law School, 1979
NeilGorsuch.gif
Associate justice 
Neil Gorsuch
August 29, 1967Denver, Colo.Trump April 10, 2017 - PresentAntonin ScaliaHarvard Law School, 1991
Judge Brett Kavanaugh2.jpg
Associate justice 
Brett Kavanaugh
February 12, 1965Washington, D.C.Trump October 6, 2018 - PresentAnthony KennedyYale Law School, 1990
AmyConeyBarrett.jpg
Associate justice 
Amy Coney Barrett
1972New Orleans, La.Trump October 26, 2020 - PresentRuth Bader GinsburgNotre Dame Law School, 1997
Ketanjijackson2.jpeg
Associate justice 
Ketanji Brown Jackson
September 14, 1970Washington, D.C.Biden June 30, 2022 - PresentStephen BreyerHarvard Law School, 1996

Case history

2023-2024 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2023-2024

In the 2023-2024 term, SCOTUS agreed to consider 62 cases. Click here for more information.

2022-2023 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2022-2023

In the 2022-2023 term, SCOTUS agreed to consider 60 cases. Click here for more information.

2021-2022 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2021-2022

In the 2021-2022 term, SCOTUS agreed to consider 68 cases. Click here for more information.

2020-2021 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2020-2021

In the 2020-2021 term, SCOTUS agreed to consider 62 cases. Click here for more information.

2019-2020 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2019-2020

In the 2019-2020 term, the court agreed to consider 74 cases. Click here for more information.

2018-2019 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2018-2019

In the 2018-2019 term, SCOTUS agreed to consider 75 cases. The court heard oral argument in 72 cases and decided three cases without argument. Click here for more information.

2017-2018 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2017-2018

In the 2017-2018 term, SCOTUS agreed to hear 71 cases. Ultimately, the justices heard argument in 69 of those cases. Click here for more information.

2016-2017 term

See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2016-2017

In the 2016-2017 term, SCOTUS agreed to hear 71 cases. Click here for more information.

The court delivered 61 opinions.

  • Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, and Kennedy, wrote the most opinions—eight each.
  • Justices Alito, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Thomas each wrote seven opinions.
  • Justice Gorsuch wrote one opinion.

The court delivered eight per curiam opinions.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. The New York Times, "On Language; Potus and Flotus," October 12, 1997
  2. SupremeCourt.gov, "The Supreme Court at Work: The Term and Caseload," accessed January 24, 2022
  3. Consolidated cases are counted as one case for purposes of this number.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Administrative Office of the United States Courts, "Supreme Court Procedures," accessed January 24, 2022
  5. Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, "Understanding the Federal Courts," accessed January 24, 2022
  6. Supreme Court of the United States, "The Court and Its Procedures," accessed January 24, 2022
  7. Note: Case's argument was originally scheduled to be heard by the Court on November 4, 2025. On September 18, 2025, the Court released an amended calendar, removing the case from the calendar. As of September 18, 2025, Hamm v. Smith has not been rescheduled.
  8. Note: Case's argument was originally scheduled to be heard by the Court on November 4, 2025. On September 18, 2025, the Court released an amended calendar, removing the case from the calendar. As of September 18, 2025, Hamm v. Smith has not been rescheduled.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Washington University Law, "Online Code Book - Formal Alteration of Precedent," accessed March 18, 2025
  10. Washington University Law, "2024 Supreme Court Database, Version 2024 Release 1," October 1, 2024