“Supreme Court weighs sentencing law, denies appeal from Trump lawyer Eastman; Justice Clarence Thomas did not participate in the decision involving Eastman, his former law clerk, the architect of Trump’s 2020 legal strategy”: Robert Barnes and Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post have this report.

Michael Macagnone of Roll Call reports that “Congressional conjunction turns Supreme Court argument into grammar class; Justices weigh if ‘and’ means ‘and’ in a criminal sentencing law.”

And Zach Schonfeld of The Hill reports that “Supreme Court opens term with case on prison terms for drug offenders.”

“Two right-wing judges seem to be trying to rig a US House race; Once again, the Supreme Court must deal with judicial arsonists on the Fifth Circuit”: Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.

“Abortion, guns, democracy: US rights at stake as supreme court term begins; As rightwing supermajority starts third term, legal experts ask how far it will go in reconfiguring the legal landscape of US.” Ed Pilkington of The Guardian (UK) has this report.

“The ADA Lawsuit Mill Reaches the Supreme Court; Deborah Laufer filed ‘accessibility’ cases against hotels she never planned to visit; Now she wants to drop her ‘tester’ lawsuit”: This editorial will appear in Tuesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“How far are the Supreme Court justices willing to go to remake constitutional law?” Law professor Erwin Chemerinsky has this essay online at The Los Angeles Times.

“Supreme Court Asks for the Views of the Solicitor General in FSIA Case”: William S. Dodge has this post at the “Transnational Litigation Blog.”

“The Supreme Court’s Oddest Pairing Comes out Swinging on Behalf of Criminal Defendants”: Jay Willis has this Jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“On First Day of New Term, Supreme Court Hears Debate Over First Step Act; The justices heard arguments about how to interpret part of the law aimed at reducing prison sentences for people convicted of certain nonviolent drug crimes”: Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this report.

“The Case for Optimism on the Supreme Court’s Next Term: Liberal pressure contributed to an unexpected tempering of the conservative justices’ extremes last time out; We’ll know soon if that will endure.” Simon Lazarus has this essay online at The New Republic.

“Supreme Court rejects Eastman’s bid to scrap rulings that sent his emails to Jan. 6 investigators; Justice Clarence Thomas bowed out as his colleagues rejected a petition from John Eastman”: Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney of Politico have this report.

And Lawrence Hurley of NBC News reports that “Clarence Thomas recuses himself as Supreme Court rejects ex-Trump lawyer John Eastman’s appeal; Thomas, who is under fire over claims of ethical lapses, was criticized for not recusing himself from a separate Jan. 6-related case because his wife, Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas, supported then-President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.”

“New term, new look”: Tom Goldstein has this post at “SCOTUSblog” explaining that, “with a smaller team running the blog’s day-to-day operations, we will no longer have full coverage of every merits case.”

“An unexpected check on Supreme Court’s sharp move right: Justice Kavanaugh.” David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

“The Next Target for the Group That Overturned Roe: Alliance Defending Freedom has won fifteen Supreme Court cases; Now it wants religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws — and is targeting trans rights.” David D. Kirkpatrick has this article in the October 9, 2023 issue of The New Yorker.

“What Fresh Hell Will This Supreme Court Term Bring?” You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link.

“Oh, Look! Billionaires Have Their Perfect Case to Start the Supreme Court Term.” Alex Aronson and Bob Lord have this Jurisprudence essay online at Slate.

“47. The First Monday in October: Although the reason why the Supreme Court’s annual session begins today, specifically, has become more than a little anachronistic, Congress’s role in *setting* that date still matters quite a bit.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

And at his Substack site, Chris Geidner has a post titled “Back to court — Tuesday’s SCOTUS arguments will be a first sign of the court we’re dealing with this term; Also: Louisiana redistricting; And: Florida has an execution set for Tuesday.”

“Supreme Court to consider abortion pills, guns, social media in its new term”: Nina Totenberg had this audio segment on today’s broadcast of NPR’s “Morning Edition.”

Access today’s Order List of the U.S. Supreme Court: At this link. The Court did not grant review in any new cases but called for the views of the Solicitor General in three cases.