Supreme Court term

• Justices
  • 
    CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS
  • ASSOCIATE JUSTICES
    • SAMUEL ALITO
    • AMY CONEY BARRETT
    • NEIL GORSUCH
    • KETANJI BROWN JACKSON
    • ELENA KAGAN
    • BRETT KAVANAUGH
    • SONIA SOTOMAYOR
    • CLARENCE THOMAS
• CASES BY TERM
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2025-2026
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2024-2025
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2023-2024
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2022-2023
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2021-2022
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2020-2021
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2019-2020
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2018-2019
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2017-2018
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2016-2017
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2015-2016
  • All earlier cases
• HISTORY OF THE COURT
  • Cases by chief justice
  • Cases by decade
• Recent vacancies
  • 2022 VACANCY AND JACKSON CONFIRMATION
  • 2020 VACANCY AND BARRETT CONFIRMATION
  • 2018 VACANCY AND KAVANAUGH CONFIRMATION
  • 2017 VACANCY AND GORSUCH CONFIRMATION

This article does not receive scheduled updates. Please contact us with any updates.

Each term of the U.S. Supreme Court begins in October and typically ends in June of the following year. The phrase "October term (OT)" is used to describe this period. For example, a case decided in OT 2014 was heard and decided between October 6, 2014, and June 29, 2015.

The court's term is divided into two periods: "sittings," when the justices will hear cases and deliver opinions, and "recesses," when the justices will write opinions and attend to other court business. Sittings and recesses occur on rotating two-week intervals throughout the court's term.

When the court is sitting, public sessions begin at 10:00 a.m. Sessions can continue until as late as 3:00 p.m., with an intervening lunch period from 12:00-1:00 p.m. The justices, however, have held very few afternoon sittings in recent years; there were no afternoon sittings for any case in the October 2015 term of the court.

On Monday mornings, the court releases its order list, which is a report of court actions the includes decisions on certiorari, announcements of admission of new members to the court bar, announcements of disbarment from the court bar, and decisions on various motions.

Opinions are typically released on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and, occasionally, on Mondays.

There are no public sessions held on Thursdays or Fridays.

During May and June, the court sits only to announce orders and opinions.

When the court is in recess, the justices study both argued and docketed cases, review petitions for certiorari, and draft their opinions.

The court considers motions and petitions throughout its summer recess and meets to make decisions on these in a conference preceding the start of a new term. This is sometimes referred to as "the long conference."

See also

• Supreme Court of the United States

External links

• Supreme Court of the United States website