The U.S. Supreme Court starts its new term on Monday, which means a new docket of cases.
The term usually starts on the first Monday of every October, a mandate under the law.
The nine justices have confirmed the hearing of a minimum of 20 cases, with a significant focus on a voting rights case from South Carolina. In this case, civil rights groups are advocating for the addition of another predominantly Black voting district in the state.
Currently, there's only one predominantly Black voting district, and they believe there should be at least two.
There's also a gun rights case from Texas involving a man accused of a weeks-long shooting spree despite having a restraining order against him. The key matter for the justices to decide is whether this man should have been allowed to possess a weapon in the first place.
Another case in the spotlight is about social media and whether politicians can block individuals who criticize them publicly on these platforms.
Additionally, there's a case involving the family behind the OxyContin-producing company and whether its members should bear personal liability for damages in the aftermath of the opioid epidemic.
These cases coincide with ethics concerns at the High Court, where some justices face accusations of receiving expensive gifts from political donors, while people are eager to see if the justices will implement a code of conduct.
Of course, the justices could take on many more cases between now and next year, but many of the big decisions will be coming down in the spring.
High court Justice Kavanaugh: 'Concrete steps soon' on court ethics
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh gave no details, but said "there'll be some concrete steps soon" in the Supreme Court's review of ethics.
