Supreme Court Makes Sudden Change to Its Schedule

The U.S. Supreme Court has added another opinion day to its schedule before the end of the month as decisions on more than two dozen cases remain pending before the justices.

The court on Wednesday announced that June 26 would be an order day, which means the court “may announce opinions” during session, according to the High Court’s calendar. The schedule change arrives a few days after the justices added an order day for Friday, June 21. Opinions are typically announced from the bench at 10 a.m. when justices gather for a public non-argument session.

Several crucial cases remain on the Supreme Court’s docket for the 2023-24 term, including a monumental decision on whether presidential immunity shields former President Donald Trump from facing criminal charges related to his actions while serving in the White House. The Supreme Court’s next term will begin on the first Monday in October by law and the justices are usually in recess starting in late June or early July until beginning their next session.

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., is pictured on June 13. The justices have added an order day to their schedule before the end of the month.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Other major decisions pending before the court include questions over how the federal Emergency Medial Treatment and Labor Act applies to hospitals in states where abortion has been banned. That case, Moyle v. United States, focuses on Idaho’s abortion ban, which says that anyone who performs an abortion is subject to criminal penalties. The Biden administration sued the state, arguing that federal law requires hospitals to provide emergency room care, including abortions. The case could have major implications on abortion laws nationwide, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Justices are also expected to issue a ruling soon in United States v. Rahimi, which will either uphold or strike down a federal law that prohibits individuals under a domestic violence civil restraining order to possess a firearm.

There are also two cases pending that will decide how the government is allowed to regulate opinions on social media, such as censorship of certain political views. In another case, Fischer v. United States, justices will rule on whether federal prosecutors can charge those involved in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol with obstruction of an official proceeding.

Dan Urman, law professor who specializes in the Supreme Court at Northeastern University, previously told Newsweek that it was not unexpected for the court to add order days, given the amount of cases before them, adding earlier this week that the “justices would like to be finished with the term by the end of June and probably want to avoid issuing too many decisions on a single day.”

“That means we will likely see additional opinion days before June 28,” Urman said in an email to Newsweek.