Episode Overview

The Supreme Court returns from summer recess with a blockbuster lineup of cases for October and November 2025. This episode provides a comprehensive preview of the 19 cases already scheduled for oral argument, spanning critical issues from voting rights to conversion therapy bans to criminal procedure reforms. We examine why this term opens with such consequential cases and what practitioners and citizens should watch for as the arguments unfold.

What You'll Learn

• Complete October & November argument schedule with key dates and case pairings
• Why Louisiana v. Callais could be the most significant voting rights case in years - including why the Court ordered reargument with explosive new briefing
• How Chiles v. Salazar tests the boundaries between professional regulation and First Amendment protection
• Criminal justice cases that could reshape double jeopardy doctrine, death penalty procedures, and federal sentencing
• What these early cases signal about the Court's priorities for the full 2025-2026 term

Episode RoadmapOpening: Term Overview

• Supreme Court's 2025-2026 schedule: 19 cases across 10 argument days
• Why the Court frontloaded significant cases in October-November
• What's still coming: Additional cases and argument dates to be announced

October Arguments Deep Dive

Week 1: October 6-8

• Villarreal v. Texas - Sixth Amendment right to counsel during trial recesses
• Berk v. Choy - State procedural rules in federal court
• Chiles v. Salazar - Colorado conversion therapy ban and First Amendment clash
• Barrett v. United States - Double jeopardy and multiple sentences
• Bost v. Illinois Board of Elections - Standing to challenge election procedures
• U.S. Postal Service v. Konan - Federal tort immunity for intentional mail failures

Week 2: October 14-15

• Criminal procedure cases: Bowe and Ellingburg on post-conviction relief and ex post facto protections
• The blockbuster: Louisiana v. Callais reargument on voting rights and equal protection
• Case v. Montana - Fourth Amendment emergency aid exception

November Arguments Analysis

Early November Focus Areas:

• Capital punishment: Hamm v. Smith on intellectual disability assessments
• Government contractor liability: Hencely v. Fluor Corporation
• Prisoners' religious rights: Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections

Federal Sentencing Reform Finale:

• Fernandez, Rutherford, and Carter cases on "extraordinary and compelling" sentence reductions

Looking Ahead: What's Next

• Additional cases expected throughout fall
• Pattern analysis: What these early cases reveal about Court priorities
• Preview of upcoming episode plans for individual case deep-dives

Key Cases HighlightedMust-Watch Cases

• Louisiana v. Callais (Oct. 15) - Could fundamentally alter Voting Rights Act enforcement
• Chiles v. Salazar (Oct. 7) - Conversion therapy ban meets First Amendment
• Hamm v. Smith (Nov. 4) - Life-or-death intellectual disability standards

Important for Practitioners

• Berk v. Choy - Federal court procedure and state law intersection
• Bost v. Illinois Board of Elections - Election law standing requirements
• Sentencing trio (Nov. 12) - Federal prison sentence modification standards

Technical but Significant

• Barrett v. United States - Double jeopardy doctrine refinement
• Case v. Montana - Fourth Amendment warrant exceptions
• Civil procedure cases throughout November

Resources Mentioned

• SCOTUSblog case pages for detailed briefing schedules
• Supreme Court argument calendars (October & November 2025)
• Voting Rights Act Section 2 background materials