Gun rights, medical marijuana use, regulation of e-cigarettes and gender transition medical procedures for minors are just a few of the issues awaiting the Supreme Court when it comes back to work from its summer recess two weeks from today.
Last term, the court decided a series of politically charged cases like former President Trump's presidential immunity case, a challenge to the government's regulation of the abortion pill and free speech in the digital age.
The high court will kick off the 2024 term on Oct. 7 as it also navigates pressure from Democratic lawmakers for Congress to impose a new code of ethics and term limits.
Garland v. VanDerStok
In a challenge to the Biden administration's regulation on so-called "ghost guns," the Supreme Court will decide whether the federal rule is constitutional.
The rule in question was issued in 2022 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to regulate "buy build shoot" kits that are available online or in stores that allow any individual to assemble a working firearm without a background check or the usual serial numbers required by the federal government.
The Biden administration argued the rule is necessary to respond to rising numbers of untraceable guns. The Justice Department had argued in court that local law enforcement agencies seized more than 19,000 ghost guns at crime scenes in 2021, a more than tenfold increase in just five years.
However, gun rights groups say the rule is "unconstitutional and abusive."