A surge in cases on religion and schools

Welcome to a new month and a new argument session. The justices will hear argument in seven cases over the next nine days.

At the Court

Today, the justices will hear argument in two cases: Maxwell v. Dinis, on a federal inmate’s ability to use a habeas statute, 28 U.S.C. § 2241, to contest the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ refusal to accelerate his transfer to a halfway house or home confinement; and Younge v. Fulton Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, Georgia, on whether an affirmative defense may be asserted as a basis for summary judgment if not presented earlier in a pleading.

On Tuesday, the justices will hear argument in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a religious discrimination challenge brought by Catholic preschools in Colorado over the state’s requirement that all schools participating in its universal preschool program must admit everyone – including LGBTQ children and children with LGBTQ parents.

On Oct. 21, the Trump administration asked the justices to allow it to resume construction of its border wall in the Big Bend region of southwestern Texas. The request is now fully briefed, and the court’s decision could come at any time.