Just over three months after a huge decision to uphold most of President Obama's controversial health reform law, the U.S. Supreme Court convenes for its new term with a major decisions expected on affirmative action and other possible cases involving gay marriage and voting rights.
Next week, the Court will get to affirmative action in a case involving the University of Texas, as the justices consider a suit brought by a white woman who had her admission application rejected; race can be one of the factors in that decision.
"Most people think the Texas plan may be gone," said Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
"Whether or not the affirmative action decision of 2003 gets overruled, that's a closer question," Wheeler added.
That 2003 decision, authored by ex-Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, upheld an affirmative action plan used by the University of Michigan for admissions, saying it was okay to help boost "underrepresented minority groups."
The Justices won't have to wait long on that issue, as arguments on the Texas case are set for October 10.
Other matters that may officially come before the High Court later in this term involve gay marriage and a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, California's Prop 8 that constitutionally banned same-sex marriage and a challenge to one part of the Voting Rights Act known as Section 5.
All of those could make major headlines - but if they are given a full review by the Justices, none of them will be finished by the time voters go to the polls on November 6.
