JUDY WOODRUFF: The Supreme
Court returned to the courtroom
this morning to hear its first

oral arguments of what looks to be
an unusually consequential new term.

John Yang has more.

JOHN YANG: Judy, the
Supreme Court term began

this morning with familiar words
from Chief Justice John Roberts.

JOHN ROBERTS, Chief Justice
of the U.S. Supreme Court: I
have the honor to announce,

on behalf of the court, that the
October 2020 term of the Supreme

Court of the United States is now closed.
And the October 2021 term is now convened.

JOHN YANG: But even though
the justices, most of them,
at least, were back in person,

not much else seemed the same as when they
were last in the courtroom in March 2020.

And the cases set for argument
this term could make it one of the
most contentious in many years.

Marcia Coyle, chief Washington
correspondent for "The National

Law Journal," was one of the
two dozen of so reporters back
in the courtroom this morning.

And she is back in the she
is back in the studio now.

MARCIA COYLE, "The National
Law Journal": John, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHN YANG: Marcia, what was it
like? What was it like this morning?

MARCIA COYLE: Well, you know, John,
it was normal and it was abnormal.

It was normal in the fact that
there are were justices actually

on the bench and they were hearing
oral arguments. But it was abnormal.

First days at the Supreme
Court, you usually have a court
building that's full of tourists

on the lower level, lines of people who
are waiting to get seats in the courtroom,

lines of lawyers in suits
waiting to be sworn into the bar,

and the whole floor seems to be
humming with talk, but, today,
silence, a few Supreme Court

police officers, a few staff people going
in and out of offices, everybody masked.

You go into the courtroom,
and you see the press,

those of us who attended, we
were in the public seats, not
in the usual press section,

but in public seats, so that we could
be spread out. And we were masked.

And, also, the lawyers who
were going to argue, they were
limited to having only one other

lawyer with them -- before, you
could have that table full of a
team of lawyers -- also masked.

In the guest section for the justices,
there really was hardly anybody there,

but Justice Kennedy, retired
Justice Kennedy, showed up in mask.
Justin Breyer's wife was there

in a mask. And Justice Barrett's
husband showed up masked, and
they were appropriately distanced.

So it was strange. And then, during
the arguments, as you mentioned,

they were all on the bench except
for Justice Kavanaugh, who last
week was positive for COVID

and is staying out of the arguments this
week. But he was participated remotely. So

you had this disembodied voice echoing in
the courtroom when he did ask questions.

The only justice who wore a
mask was Justice Sotomayor,

and I think because of being extra
cautious, and since she is a diabetic.

So, it was strange, and
then it wasn't strange.

JOHN YANG: And it is a
big term for this court.

MARCIA COYLE: It is.

JOHN YANG: I mean, there is
hardly a hot-button issue

that they are not considering
this term, including the most
divisive of all, abortion.

MARCIA COYLE: That's right, John.

And who knows. There may be two abortion
cases getting to the court. At least,

the -- there is still action in
the lower courts on the Texas ban
at six weeks of pregnancy. So,

it is not only abortion. It's
guns. They have taken up a case

that could result in the expansion of
gun rights under the Second Amendment.

They have also taken two religion-related
cases, one that deals with separation of

church and state, one involving
a death row inmate who wants
to have his minister president

in the death chamber, but
praying and laying on hands. So,
yes, you are absolutely right.

And they could add to that easily.
Pending is a big affirmative
action case involving Harvard.

The court continues to accept
cases until about mid-January,
and then, usually, they have about

70 for arguments. And, right now,
I think the number is about 39.
So, this term could grow yet.

JOHN YANG: And in this first
week, on Wednesday, there is a
case involving state secrets.

(CROSSTALK)
MARCIA COYLE: That's right, John.

In fact, it is one of two state
secrets cases, which is really
unusual. The court hasn't looked

at the state secrets doctrine for a long
time. The first case that is on Wednesday

involves somebody who is now at Guantanamo
Bay, but he is trying to get evidence,

what we call discovery of evidence
from former federal contractors

who were involved in his interrogation
when he was at a CIA black site in Poland.

This detainee was seriously
interrogated. In fact,

they say he was suffered brain
damage and the loss of one
eye. The government is saying,

you can't have that evidence because it
will expose national security to danger.

The court has got to take a look at that.

And there is another case
that involves three Muslim men
from California, I believe,

who feel that they were -- that
the FBI was surveilling them
because of their religion. And,

again, they want information and.
The government has pleaded the
state secrets doctrine. So, yes.

And then there is also a very
important death penalty -- the
Boston Marathon bomber, his

sentence was invalidated by a
federal appellate court because of
errors at trial. And the justices

have agreed to look at those
trial errors and see if the lower
court was correct in what it did.

So, yes, it is a huge term, huge.

JOHN YANG: In recent weeks, we have had
a number of justices give public remarks,

all sort of defending the court against
a lot of criticism from the public.

What is going on here?

MARCIA COYLE: John, I think
it's a reaction to the
court's more recent rulings

on emergency applications that
come to it. It is generally known
as the court's shadow docket.

And those rulings have come
in very controversial areas,
such as the Texas abortion ban,

the Biden administration's effort
to extend the ban on evictions,

as well as the remain-in-Mexico
immigration policy of
the Trump administration.

And so I think the justices -- some of
the justices are voicing concerns about

the court's -- the impact of this
criticism of the court and maybe
also have an eye on the fact that

this is a very controversial
term. The public is going to be
watching. And so they're worried

what the public is going to react to the
decisions that may be coming forward.

JOHN YANG: Marcia Coyle of "The
National Law Journal," who will

be helping us keep an eye on the
term ahead, thank you very much.

MARCIA COYLE: My pleasure, John.