Episode 406: SCOTUS Roundup - October Term 2025

Written By Sinister Hood

Year after year, nine black-robed justices deliver their opinions from a building in Washington D.C., and each word of their opinions has an impact on our everyday lives. What did they decide this term and what does it mean for us? This week’s episode is SCOTUS Roundup - October Term 2025.

SOURCES
‍ ‍

2025-2026 Term, Oyez: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2025

 

A breakdown of the court's tariff decision, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/a-breakdown-of-the-courts-tariff-decision/

 

Breaking down the birthright-citizenship decision, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/breaking-down-the-birthright-citizenship-decision/

 

Chiles v. Salazar: What you need to know about the U.S. Supreme Court case on conversion therapy, The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/blog/chiles-v-salazar/

 

Conversion is Not Care: A Response to the Supreme Court's Decision in Chiles v. Salazar, Center for the Study of Social Policy: https://cssp.org/conversion-is-not-care-a-response-to-the-supreme-courts-decision-in-chiles-v-salazar/

 

Complicating the Polarization Narrative, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/podcasts/advisory-opinions/complicating-the-polarization-narrative/

 

Defending Limits on Coordinated Spending by Political Parties (NRSC, et al. v. FEC), Campaign Legal Center: https://campaignlegal.org/cases-actions/defending-limits-coordinated-spending-political-parties

 

Explainer: Supreme Court Reaffirms Birthright Citizenship in Trump v. Barbara, National Immigration Forum: https://forumtogether.org/article/explainer-supreme-court-reaffirms-birthright-citizenship-in-trump-v-barbara/

 

Four answers to the justices in Wolford v. Lopez, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/01/four-answers-to-the-justices-in-wolford-v-lopez/

 

Four Takeaways From the Supreme Court's 2025–2026 Term, Reason Mag: https://reason.com/2026/07/14/4-takeaways-from-the-supreme-courts-2025-2026-term/

 

How Callais broke the Voting Rights Act and weaponized the equal protection clause: part 1, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/05/how-callais-broke-the-voting-rights-act-and-weaponized-the-equal-protection-clause-part-1/

 

In big win for Fourth Amendment advocates, the Supreme Court says 'geofence warrants' count as a 'search', Reason Mag: https://reason.com/2026/06/29/in-big-win-for-fourth-amendment-advocates-the-supreme-court-says-geofence-warrants-count-as-a-search/

 

Justices strike down campaign finance law, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/justices-strike-down-campaign-finance-law/

 

Justices uphold state law allowing for late-arriving mail-in ballots, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/justices-uphold-state-law-allowing-for-late-arriving-mail-in-ballots/

 

Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, Constitutional Accountability Center: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/landor-v-louisiana-department-of-corrections-and-public-safety/

 

Louisiana v. Callais, NAACP Legal Defense Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/louisiana-v-callais/

 

Mullin v. Doe: Supreme Court Allows Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and Syria, Congress.gov, Library of Congress: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11446

 

Racial Animus Claims May Play a Key Role in the TPS Cases, Lawfare: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/racial-animus-claims-may-play-a-key-role-in-the-tps-cases

 

Sanitized and Unreviewable: Unpacking the Supreme Court’s Mullin v Doe on Ending Temporary Protected Status for 1.3m Noncitizens, Just Security: https://www.justsecurity.org/144302/supreme-court-mullin-doe-tps/

 

Stephen I. Vladeck, Georgetown Law: https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/stephen-i-vladeck/

 

Strict Scrutiny, Crooked Media: https://crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/

 

Supreme Court term shows contrast between justices who dominate arguments versus decisions, Washington Examiner: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/in_focus/4638447/supreme-court-term-contrast-between-justices-dominate-arguments-versus-decisions/

 

Supreme Court Decides Chatrie v. United States, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: https://www.faegredrinker.com/en/insights/publications/2026/6/supreme-court-decides-chatrie-v-united-states

 

Supreme Court Decides Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: https://www.faegredrinker.com/en/insights/publications/2026/6/supreme-court-decides-landor-v-louisiana-department-of-corrections-and-public-safety

 

Supreme Court difficult to read in case on campaign finance limitations, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/supreme-court-difficult-to-read-in-case-on-campaign-finance-limitations/

 

Supreme Court Holds Geofence Warrant Access to Location History Constitutes a Fourth Amendment "Search", Venable LLP: https://www.venable.com/insights/publications/2026/07/supreme-court-holds-geofence-warrant-access

 

Supreme Court rejects Trump's bid to deploy National Guard in Illinois, NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rejects-trump-bid-deploy-national-guard-illinois-rcna238630

 

Supreme Court rules Trump can't fire Fed member Lisa Cook, grants him more power over other independent agencies, NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rules-trump-cannot-fire-fed-member-lisa-cook-grants-powe-rcna234931

 

Supreme Court strikes down Trump's birthright citizenship executive order in landmark decision, National Constitution Center: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/supreme-court-strikes-down-trumps-birthright-citizenship-executive-order-in-landmark-decision

 

Supreme Court upholds West Virginia, Idaho bans on transgender athletes in women's sports, JURIST: https://www.jurist.org/news/2026/06/supreme-court-upholds-west-virginia-idaho-bans-on-transgender-athletes-in-womens-sports/

 

The Fourth Amendment Moves to the Cloud: Chatrie v. United States and the Future of Digital Privacy, WilmerHale: https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20260702-the-fourth-amendment-moves-to-the-cloud

 

The gerrymandering mess, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/the-gerrymandering-mess/

 

The implications of the Supreme Court ruling against Trump in National Guard case, NPR: https://www.npr.org/2025/12/24/nx-s1-5655238/the-implications-of-the-supreme-court-ruling-against-trump-in-national-guard-case

 

The Supreme Court's New Expansion of the Second Amendment Is Genuinely Deranged, Slate: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/06/supreme-courts-second-amendment-alito-guns-deranged.html

 

The 2025-26 term by the numbers, SCOTUSblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/07/the-2025-26-term-by-the-numbers/

 

The Supreme Court’s 2025-2026 Regulatory Term, The Regulatory Review: https://www.theregreview.org/2026/07/13/series-the-supreme-courts-2025-2026-regulatory-term/

 

The Term of the Summary Reversal, Steve Vladeck: https://www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-231-the-term-of-the-summary

 

Watson v. RNC: Supreme Court Protects Mail Voting for Voters With Disabilities, The Arc of the United States:  https://thearc.org/blog/supreme-court-protects-mail-voting-in-major-win-for-voters-with-disabilities/

 

Wolford v. Lopez: The Next SCOTUS Second Amendment Case, Everytown: https://www.everytown.org/wolford-v-lopez-second-amendment-scotus-oral-argument/

 

Your Questions Answered: What You Need to Know About the BPJ and Hecox Supreme Court Decision, American Civil Liberties Union: https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/your-questions-answered-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-bpj-and-hecox-supreme-court-decision

 

 

SCOTUS Direct Links

‍ ‍

Sinister Hood
Next

Episode 405: In-Q-Tel: The CIA's Silicon Valley Venture