WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:04.320 JUDY WOODRUFF: The Supreme Court returned to the courtroom this morning to hear its first 00:04.320 --> 00:08.800 oral arguments of what looks to be an unusually consequential new term. 00:09.360 --> 00:10.480 John Yang has more. 00:10.480 --> 00:13.680 JOHN YANG: Judy, the Supreme Court term began 00:13.680 --> 00:17.200 this morning with familiar words from Chief Justice John Roberts. 00:17.200 --> 00:19.680 JOHN ROBERTS, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: I have the honor to announce, 00:19.680 --> 00:24.080 on behalf of the court, that the October 2020 term of the Supreme 00:24.080 --> 00:29.080 Court of the United States is now closed. And the October 2021 term is now convened. 00:30.320 --> 00:35.320 JOHN YANG: But even though the justices, most of them, at least, were back in person, 00:35.360 --> 00:40.360 not much else seemed the same as when they were last in the courtroom in March 2020. 00:41.040 --> 00:46.040 And the cases set for argument this term could make it one of the most contentious in many years. 00:46.800 --> 00:49.440 Marcia Coyle, chief Washington correspondent for "The National 00:49.440 --> 00:54.160 Law Journal," was one of the two dozen of so reporters back in the courtroom this morning. 00:54.160 --> 00:56.000 And she is back in the she is back in the studio now. 00:56.000 --> 00:56.880 MARCIA COYLE, "The National Law Journal": John, yes. 00:56.880 --> 00:57.040 (CROSSTALK) 00:57.040 --> 00:59.266 JOHN YANG: Marcia, what was it like? What was it like this morning? 00:59.266 --> 01:02.640 MARCIA COYLE: Well, you know, John, it was normal and it was abnormal. 01:02.640 --> 01:06.000 It was normal in the fact that there are were justices actually 01:06.000 --> 01:10.480 on the bench and they were hearing oral arguments. But it was abnormal. 01:11.600 --> 01:16.600 First days at the Supreme Court, you usually have a court building that's full of tourists 01:17.440 --> 01:22.400 on the lower level, lines of people who are waiting to get seats in the courtroom, 01:22.400 --> 01:26.240 lines of lawyers in suits waiting to be sworn into the bar, 01:26.240 --> 01:31.240 and the whole floor seems to be humming with talk, but, today, silence, a few Supreme Court 01:33.200 --> 01:38.200 police officers, a few staff people going in and out of offices, everybody masked. 01:39.120 --> 01:42.560 You go into the courtroom, and you see the press, 01:43.280 --> 01:47.760 those of us who attended, we were in the public seats, not in the usual press section, 01:47.760 --> 01:51.520 but in public seats, so that we could be spread out. And we were masked. 01:51.520 --> 01:56.520 And, also, the lawyers who were going to argue, they were limited to having only one other 01:56.960 --> 02:01.960 lawyer with them -- before, you could have that table full of a team of lawyers -- also masked. 02:04.000 --> 02:08.160 In the guest section for the justices, there really was hardly anybody there, 02:08.160 --> 02:13.160 but Justice Kennedy, retired Justice Kennedy, showed up in mask. Justin Breyer's wife was there 02:14.720 --> 02:19.720 in a mask. And Justice Barrett's husband showed up masked, and they were appropriately distanced. 02:21.360 --> 02:26.080 So it was strange. And then, during the arguments, as you mentioned, 02:26.080 --> 02:31.080 they were all on the bench except for Justice Kavanaugh, who last week was positive for COVID 02:33.280 --> 02:38.280 and is staying out of the arguments this week. But he was participated remotely. So 02:38.400 --> 02:43.400 you had this disembodied voice echoing in the courtroom when he did ask questions. 02:44.720 --> 02:48.640 The only justice who wore a mask was Justice Sotomayor, 02:48.640 --> 02:53.040 and I think because of being extra cautious, and since she is a diabetic. 02:53.040 --> 02:56.960 So, it was strange, and then it wasn't strange. 02:56.960 --> 03:00.880 JOHN YANG: And it is a big term for this court. 03:00.880 --> 03:01.138 MARCIA COYLE: It is. 03:01.138 --> 03:03.840 JOHN YANG: I mean, there is hardly a hot-button issue 03:04.400 --> 03:09.400 that they are not considering this term, including the most divisive of all, abortion. 03:10.400 --> 03:11.520 MARCIA COYLE: That's right, John. 03:11.520 --> 03:16.520 And who knows. There may be two abortion cases getting to the court. At least, 03:17.040 --> 03:22.040 the -- there is still action in the lower courts on the Texas ban at six weeks of pregnancy. So, 03:24.480 --> 03:27.840 it is not only abortion. It's guns. They have taken up a case 03:27.840 --> 03:32.080 that could result in the expansion of gun rights under the Second Amendment. 03:32.080 --> 03:37.080 They have also taken two religion-related cases, one that deals with separation of 03:37.520 --> 03:42.520 church and state, one involving a death row inmate who wants to have his minister president 03:43.280 --> 03:48.280 in the death chamber, but praying and laying on hands. So, yes, you are absolutely right. 03:48.720 --> 03:53.720 And they could add to that easily. Pending is a big affirmative action case involving Harvard. 03:56.720 --> 04:01.720 The court continues to accept cases until about mid-January, and then, usually, they have about 04:03.520 --> 04:08.520 70 for arguments. And, right now, I think the number is about 39. So, this term could grow yet. 04:10.080 --> 04:15.080 JOHN YANG: And in this first week, on Wednesday, there is a case involving state secrets. 04:15.120 --> 04:16.160 (CROSSTALK) MARCIA COYLE: That's right, John. 04:16.160 --> 04:21.160 In fact, it is one of two state secrets cases, which is really unusual. The court hasn't looked 04:21.520 --> 04:26.520 at the state secrets doctrine for a long time. The first case that is on Wednesday 04:28.480 --> 04:33.360 involves somebody who is now at Guantanamo Bay, but he is trying to get evidence, 04:34.080 --> 04:39.080 what we call discovery of evidence from former federal contractors 04:39.760 --> 04:44.760 who were involved in his interrogation when he was at a CIA black site in Poland. 04:46.000 --> 04:50.000 This detainee was seriously interrogated. In fact, 04:50.000 --> 04:54.560 they say he was suffered brain damage and the loss of one eye. The government is saying, 04:54.560 --> 04:59.560 you can't have that evidence because it will expose national security to danger. 05:00.880 --> 05:02.640 The court has got to take a look at that. 05:02.640 --> 05:07.640 And there is another case that involves three Muslim men from California, I believe, 05:08.560 --> 05:13.560 who feel that they were -- that the FBI was surveilling them because of their religion. And, 05:15.680 --> 05:20.680 again, they want information and. The government has pleaded the state secrets doctrine. So, yes. 05:21.840 --> 05:26.840 And then there is also a very important death penalty -- the Boston Marathon bomber, his 05:27.280 --> 05:32.280 sentence was invalidated by a federal appellate court because of errors at trial. And the justices 05:34.160 --> 05:39.160 have agreed to look at those trial errors and see if the lower court was correct in what it did. 05:39.840 --> 05:42.080 So, yes, it is a huge term, huge. 05:42.080 --> 05:46.880 JOHN YANG: In recent weeks, we have had a number of justices give public remarks, 05:46.880 --> 05:51.840 all sort of defending the court against a lot of criticism from the public. 05:53.200 --> 05:54.320 What is going on here? 05:54.320 --> 05:58.880 MARCIA COYLE: John, I think it's a reaction to the court's more recent rulings 05:58.880 --> 06:03.880 on emergency applications that come to it. It is generally known as the court's shadow docket. 06:04.640 --> 06:09.600 And those rulings have come in very controversial areas, such as the Texas abortion ban, 06:10.320 --> 06:14.880 the Biden administration's effort to extend the ban on evictions, 06:14.880 --> 06:19.880 as well as the remain-in-Mexico immigration policy of the Trump administration. 06:21.120 --> 06:26.120 And so I think the justices -- some of the justices are voicing concerns about 06:26.240 --> 06:31.240 the court's -- the impact of this criticism of the court and maybe also have an eye on the fact that 06:31.760 --> 06:36.480 this is a very controversial term. The public is going to be watching. And so they're worried 06:37.360 --> 06:41.760 what the public is going to react to the decisions that may be coming forward. 06:41.760 --> 06:44.560 JOHN YANG: Marcia Coyle of "The National Law Journal," who will 06:44.560 --> 06:47.840 be helping us keep an eye on the term ahead, thank you very much. 06:47.840 --> 06:52.840 MARCIA COYLE: My pleasure, John.